WALES

Prisoners' Children

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussion he has had with the First Minister on the provision of support for children in Wales whose mothers are in prison.

Huw Irranca-Davies: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and my predecessor have held regular discussions with Assembly Government colleagues on a range of matters affecting Wales, including prisons. I intend to follow in the same vein.

Barnett Formula

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister in Wales on the working of the Barnett formula as it applies to public funding in Wales.

Peter Hain: I meet regularly with the First Minister and discuss a wide range of issues.

Prescriptions

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has held with the Welsh First Minister on prescriptions written in England being filled in Wales.

Huw Irranca-Davies: My predecessor had frequent discussions with Welsh Ministers on all issues, including health.
	Welsh patients benefit from the Welsh Assembly Government's policy of free prescriptions for all, and English patients pay the apt fee for England, whichever side of the border they have their prescriptions dispensed.

GP Services

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has held with Welsh Assembly Ministers on funding for the treatment of English patients registered with Welsh GPs.

Huw Irranca-Davies: My predecessor had regular meetings with the Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services, where cross border treatment of NHS patients were discussed, among other issues. I will continue to hold such meetings.

Community Policing

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the development of community policing in North Wales.

Peter Hain: This Government have invested huge sums in extra policing and community safety, and delivered large numbers of extra police officers. As a result of our policies, crime has fallen.
	We are committed to ensuring that every community will have a Neighbourhood Policing team by April 2008.
	North Wales police is on track to meet this target.

Public Expenditure

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the level of public expenditure per head of population is in Wales in 2007-08.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Figures for total identifiable public expenditure per head in Wales are published retrospectively by the Treasury as a Command Paper. Figures for 2007-08 are not yet available.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1289W, on Departments: manpower, how many staff in his Department are classed as without posts.

Peter Hain: None.

Departments: Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in his Department in the last three years; and at what total cost.

Peter Hain: The only readily available information is for financial year 2006-07. Three members of Wales Office staff were awarded non-pensionable bonuses. The total cost was £1,000.

Departments: Performance Appraisal

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff in his Department did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report in 2006-07.

Peter Hain: Provisionally one, which is currently being appealed.

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff in his Department have taken  (a) five or more,  (b) four,  (c) three and  (d) two periods of sick leave of less than five days in the last 12 months.

Peter Hain: This information is not held centrally and obtaining it could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Public Sector: Pay

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussion he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the economic benefits for Wales arising out of the introduction of regional pay in the public sector.

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
	It is essential that all public sector workers receive a fair rate of pay wherever they live. Pay reflects the individual circumstances facing each workforce, for instance recruitment and retention, operational circumstances, local labour market considerations, pay modernisation and the value of the total reward package. With major Welsh towns and cities like Cardiff, Newport and Swansea now enjoying increased prosperity and a booming property market, Wales is not necessarily one single labour market.

PRIME MINISTER

Official Residences: Mr. Prescott

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister whether the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) will be permitted to remain in his official residence in Admiralty House; and on what financial terms.

Gordon Brown: Following his recent illness, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) is making the necessary arrangements to move out of his official residence.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departments: Consultants

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on  (a) management consultants and  (b) other external consultants and advisers in each year since 2000; and which of these consultants undertook work for the Department with a total contractual value in excess of £10 million over this period.

Margaret Hodge: The Department's spend on management and other consultants and advisers since 2000 is listed in the table. There have been no consultants who have undertaken work for the Department with a contractual value in excess of £10 million during this period.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Financial year  Management consultants  Other consultants and advisers 
			 2000-01 0 194,075.11 
			 2001-02 0 318,416.80 
			 2002-03 107,299.50 362,181.10 
			 2003-04 10,170.94 463,614.41 
			 2004-05 21,067.25 622,857.02 
			 2005-06(1) 159,188.14 1,002,117.89 
			 2006-07(2) 67,955.11 783,223.86 
			 (1 )Amended to reflect reclassification of some costs to departmental administration costs (2) Subject to finalisation of resource accounts

Football: Primary Education

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with colleagues in the Department for Children, Schools and Families on increasing participation in football in primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government are committed to increasing the amount of physical education and sport in schools through the National School Sport Strategy, delivered jointly by the DCMS and the DCSF. Football is one of 25 sports helping to deliver this strategy.
	The 2005-06 School Sport survey found that 99 per cent. of primary schools offered football during the last year and that 79 per cent. of primary schools have a link with a football club.

Gambling: Licensing

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations his Department has received from  (a) the gaming industry and  (b) local authorities on the deadline for premises licence applications in order to secure continuation rights.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Industry representatives have raised this issue informally with the Department. Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) supports the existing timetable and we have received no such representation from local authorities.

Gaming Machines: Standards

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans his Department has to permit the pre-testing of gaming machines prior to the implementation of the new machine categories provided for in the Gambling Act 2005.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The power to test gaming machines for compliance with gaming machine technical standards rests with the Gambling Commission. Machines must be tested in line with the Commission's testing strategy, to be published before 1 September 2007. The Commission has provisionally approved a number of test houses to carry out testing, and where tests of certain gaming machines will be required, those tests may be commenced prior to 1 September or completed during a reasonable time-frame set by the Commission.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the value of land at the Olympic site which will be available for resale after hosting the Olympic games in 2012 at current prices.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 2 July 2007
	I have been asked to reply 
	as Minster for the Olympics.
	I refer the hon. Member to my written statement to the House on 27 March 2007, and the revised memorandum of understanding which has now been agreed with the Mayor. Copies of the memorandum have been deposited in the Library of the House. This shows details of the amounts we expect to be recovered from the sale of land acquired by the London Development Agency for the purposes of delivering the Olympic and Paralympic games, and how these funds will be allocated.

Sport England: Finance

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding was provided to Sport England North East Region in each of the last five years; and what the projected funding allocation is for the 2008-09 financial year.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The table provides details of funding provided to Sport England North East region in each of the last five years:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Sport England North East  Exchequer  Lottery 
			 2003-04 0.3 7.9 
			 2004-05 0.5 11.4 
			 2005-06 0.8 10.6 
			 2006-07 0.8 7.6 
			 2007-08 0.7 3.2 
			 Totals 3.1 40.7 
		
	
	The projected funding for 2008-09 financial year will not be known until the outcome of the 2007 comprehensive spending review.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Departments: Advertising

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1216W, on Departments: Advertising, under what terms the checklist for the travellers website www.fco.gov.uk/travel and its paper equivalent carry advertisements for commercial insurance companies.

Meg Munn: The website www.fco.gov.uk/travel is the home page for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Know Before You Go (KBYG) Campaign. The campaign is aimed at encouraging British travellers to prepare better before going overseas. Companies and businesses can apply to become members of the campaign and as a part of that membership they have an entry and logo displayed through a link from:
	www.fco.gov.uk/travel
	The campaign employs a professional partnership marketing company, which develops a range of arrangements (within agreed guidelines), with partner organisations to get travel safety messages across to the public. As part of these arrangements, partner companies have been offered the opportunity to place their logos on the back of some KBYG leaflets. No financial exchange takes place, but the companies are required to provide the equivalent space in value on their own publicity materials.
	One example of this is our partnership with The Halifax, whose logo appears on the "Checklist for Travellers" which, is distributed with each UK passport issued. In return for this, the FCO has secured wide exposure for travel safety messages in The Halifax's online and printed travel-related communications tools, such as travel newsletters, advice pages, and travel insurance documents.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2007,  Official Report, column 305W, to the hon. Member for Reading, East (Mr. Wilson), on Iraq, what the total contractual costs of private security companies contracted to his Department and operating in Iraq were in each year between 2003 and the latest date for which figures are available.

Kim Howells: The information requested by my hon. Friend is provided as follows:
	
		
			   Value (£ per annum)  Purpose 
			 2003-04 16,800,000 Static and Mobile Security 
			 2004-05 49,500,000 Static and Mobile Security 
			 2005-06 47,800,000 Static and Mobile Security 
			 2006-07 30,400,000 Static and Mobile Security 
		
	
	Year: 2004-07
	Value: £19,900,000
	Purpose: Provision of Police Mentors and Advisers to the Government
	The information above covers contracts put in place by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with private security companies for services in Iraq. The figures reflect the contract values concerned and not the actual spend. Many of these contracts cover other Government Departments. Where this is the case, proportional costs are recovered accordingly.

Saudi Arabia: BAE Systems

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations were received by her Department about the Al-Yamamah military contract in the three months prior to the announcement that the Serious Fraud Office would end its investigation into the contract.

Kim Howells: In the three months prior to the decision by the Director of the Serious Fraud Office to halt its investigation into BAE Systems, we continued to have talks with Saudi government officials on many subjects including the Al-Yamamah programme.
	Primary responsibility for supporting the export of UK defence equipment and services lies with the Ministry of Defence.

Sierra Leone: Elections

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government have taken to ensure that elections in Sierra Leone are free and fair; for how long he expects international observers to remain in Sierre Leone; and whether they will remain there throughout the election process.

Meg Munn: We are funding a £3 million programme of electoral support to help ensure free and fair elections. This consists of support for international observers and a coalition of national election monitors, the 'National Elections Watch', which intends to host observers in every polling station in Sierra Leone; training for political parties; addressing the gender disparity surrounding elections; and strengthening the capacity of national and local media to cover the elections. We have also committed £4 million to the UN Development Programme's "basket fund", which finances Sierra Leone's National Electoral Commission and contributes to the cost of the elections. In addition, our high commission in Freetown is working with the full range of political and civil society to support free and credible elections. It is essential that Sierra Leoneans should be able to participate fully in the elections and that the result should reflect their choices.
	On present plans the EU will send 28 long term observers from 15 July to 16 September; 42 short term observers from 6-16 August and, should there be a second round of voting in the presidential elections, 36 short term observers from 2-13 September. We are looking forward to contributing candidates as both short and long term observers.
	The National Democratic Institute (NDI), an international non-governmental organisation with expertise on electoral issues, will send 35-40 short term observers who will stay for one week, including election week, and seven short term observers who will stay for one week in mid-July. NDI has already deployed six long term observers who will stay until the end of August. NDI's observers are being part-funded by the Department for International Development. UK Government election observers will also be deployed for the critical phases of the electoral process and for the elections themselves.

Sudan: Armed Forces

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the UK is making to the Government of Sudan on its commitment under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to withdraw Sudanese armed forces from Upper Nile and Unity States by 9 July 2007.

Meg Munn: holding answer 3 July 2007
	As chair of the Security Working Group of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission, the UK is in regular dialogue with both parties on monitoring and assisting implementation of their security obligations in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Despite some delays, both sides remain committed to meeting their obligations.

Sudan: Oil

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government intend to work with their counterparts in the UN to introduce a Darfur oil trust fund.

Meg Munn: We welcome the proposal from the Aegis Trust for an oil trust fund. This could be an option for consideration in the future to put further pressure on the Government of Sudan to meet its commitments on Darfur. As with other measures, we need to carefully consider its impact on the economy and poverty reduction in the whole of Sudan, and on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), agreed between North and South Sudan in 2005. Oil revenues are key to delivering the CPA's peace dividend across Sudan. The UK's policy remains focused on smart and targeted multilateral sanctions.

Sudan: Peace Keeping Operations

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the timetable is for the full deployment of the combined African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force to Sudan.

Meg Munn: The UN and African Union (AU) are negotiating the timetable for the deployment of the joint AU-UN hybrid force for Darfur, accepted by the Sudanese Government on 12 June. We are pressing both parties to agree on the earliest possible date.

Sudan: Peace Keeping Operations

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide details of the proposed mandate for the African Union-United Nations deployment to Darfur.

Meg Munn: The proposed mandate of the joint African Union (AU)—UN peacekeeping force for Darfur is contained in the report produced by the AU and UN and presented to the Government of Sudan in Addis Ababa on 12 June. Copies of the report are available in the Library of the House. The Peace and Security Council of the AU endorsed this proposed mandate on 22 June. We are preparing a UN Security Council Resolution, with other Security Council members, that will mandate the UN elements of the force.

Uganda: Politics and Government

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on incursion into the Uganda High Court by security forces to re-arrest suspects previously given bail; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The violence used by the Government forces at the Uganda High Court on 1 March to frustrate the decision of the High Court to grant the People's Redemption Army (PRA) suspects bail has grave implications for the independence of the judiciary, respect for the rule of law and human rights in Uganda.
	We continue to raise our concerns about the detention of the PRA suspects with the Government of Uganda. Most recently our High Commissioner in Kampala raised this with President Museveni on 10 May.
	We understand that court proceedings are due to resume later this month. We will continue to make further representations to the Government of Uganda calling for court proceedings to be expedited in a fair and just manner.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Security

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent advice she has had from TRANSEC on current hand baggage restrictions, with particular reference to the number of pieces of hand baggage allowed for air travellers departing UK airports.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The current security regulations are kept under constant review. The Department has currently placed a limit of one cabin bag per passenger in order to manage the current very real threat to aviation in the UK. However, we have made clear our readiness to remove the one bag limit once industry—collectively—is confident of its ability to deliver security effectively without it.

Bus Services: Concessions

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many appeals lodged in 2006 by bus operators under the concessionary travel appeal system in England have been successful; how many appeals were lodged in 2006; how much was awarded to successful appeals lodged in 2006; how many appeals are outstanding from 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: 38 appeals lodged with the Secretary of State by bus operators disputing the reimbursement arrangements in travel concession authorities in England for 2006-07 were successful. Over 60 appeals were lodged in that year, although 15 of those were subsequently withdrawn and four were rejected. Two of the appeals lodged in the autumn are deferred until July following requests from both operators and the travel concession authority to allow time for local negotiation.
	It would not be appropriate to comment on the individual determinations of appeals. Further information may be sought from the relevant bus operators and travel concession authorities.

Bus Services: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the likely impact on the provision of rural bus services of the real terms reduction in the rural bus subsidy grant to Cumbria county council in 2007-08.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 29 June 2007
	In 2007-08 Cumbria will receive £1.6 million in rural bus subsidy grant (RBSG). This is a 2.39 per cent. increase over the previous year, which is the same percentage increase received by all other local authorities receiving the grant. RBSG allocations for 2007-08 total £55.6 million. This is a 71 per cent. increase in cash terms since the grant was introduced in 1998.
	Whether an authority's allocation represents a reduction in real terms depends on the changes in contract prices that authority faces during the course of the year. This varies from area to area. It is for each authority to review their expenditure on bus support, taking account of local priorities and all the resources available to them which includes, in addition to RBSG, revenue support grant from central Government.

Bypasses: Kettering

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make available funding to help finance the construction of an eastern bypass for Kettering.

Rosie Winterton: Northamptonshire county council, as the local highway authority, is responsible for preparing any proposals for an eastern bypass of Kettering. Should the council decide to promote such a scheme, it would need to obtain the region's agreement to prioritise the scheme for funding within the East Midlands regional funding allocation for major transport schemes.
	The council would then need to submit a detailed business case for the scheme, in line with departmental guidance, for consideration by the Department.

Channel Tunnel

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what date she expects the Channel Tunnel to reach full capacity for  (a) freight and  (b) passengers.

Tom Harris: The Department currently holds no forecasts on this matter.

Departments: Pay

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at her Department and its agencies in each year between 1997 and 2006; and what the total cost of those bonuses was.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information for the number and total amount paid to senior civil service bonus payments within the Department for Transport is only available from 2004 onwards and is as follows:
	
		
			   Number  Total cost (£) 
			 2004 65 326,000 
			 2005 105 492,000 
			 2006 140 882,000 
		
	
	Under current arrangements, bonuses are used to reward excellent performance during the year and are based on a judgment on how well an individual has performed relative to their peers. The intention is the best performers receive the biggest bonus payments.

Departments: Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in her Department in the last three years; and at what total cost.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number and total cost of non-pensionable bonuses awarded to member of staff in the Department for Transport in the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of bonuses awarded  Total value of these bonuses (£) 
			 2004-05 5,652 1,690,379 
			 2005-06 6,343 2,458,701 
			 2006-07 8,876 4,361,708

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of sick leave taken by staff in her Department was stress-related in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The percentage of sick leave taken by staff in the Department that was stress-related in each of the last three years is:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 2004 20.6 
			 2005 22.4 
			 2006 17.6

Lorries: Tolls

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on tackling competitive distortions in the UK haulier market via a system of national road pricing.

Rosie Winterton: I refer to the answer of 21 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 2114-15W. No decisions have been taken on whether to introduce a national system of road pricing or what form it might take. Such decisions will be taken only on the evidence of established local schemes.

Motorcycles

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she or other Ministers from her Department last met the chairman of the Motorcycle Action Group to discuss policy issues; and when the next such meeting is planned.

Jim Fitzpatrick: No Ministers from the Department have met with the chairman of the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) and there have been no requests to do so. The former Minister of State, the hon. Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman), had met with senior representatives of MAG in the last six months.

Motorcycles: Electronic Tagging

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is her policy to introduce electronic tagging of motorcycles.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport currently does not have plans to introduce such a system.
	However a small trial of electronic vehicle identification (EVI) technology using electronic tags attached to number plates on both cars and motorcycle number plates took place in 2006.

Motorways: Repairs and Maintenance

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what co-ordination exists between different regions of the Highways Agency to ensure that motorway lane closures in one region are notified to adjoining areas served by the same motorway; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: For planned lane closures such as those required for maintenance activity and major improvements, the Agency has a Network Occupancy Management Process to ensure that roadwork activity is planned and coordinated effectively. As part of this process, the Agency records all this information on a national electronic system called the Schedule of Road Works. This national system is populated by its contractors and can be accessed by planning staff in all regions.
	For unplanned lane closures such as those as a result of incidents, the Agency's National Traffic Control Centre (NTCC) co-ordinates the strategic response and informs motorists of road closures and implements strategic diversions. The NTCC automatically alerts the corresponding Regional Control Centre (RCC) that it is about to set a specific response plan and also provides information to motorists through the Traffic England website, the Highways Agency Information Line and through travel news media.
	Incidents are managed from the Agency's seven RCCs. If the incident affects adjoining regions then the lead RCC will ensure they are notified and co-ordinate a joint response. Incidents of national significance are co-ordinated by a national crisis management team.

Motorways: Repairs and Maintenance

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice she has given on the use of overhead gantry signs to ensure that motorists using a motorway in one Highways Agency area are warned of carriageway closures in other Highways Agency areas.

Tom Harris: The Highways Agency (HA) have a wide variety of Variable Message Signs (VMS) and fixed message signs designed to give motorists advanced warning of any closures on the motorway network which could affect their journey. Where an incident occurs that necessitates the closure of a carriageway, the National Traffic Control Centre (NTCC) uses VMS located at key strategic points on the network, across HA areas and regions, to make motorists aware and allow them to make informed decisions about whether to change their route. It is important to note that the NTCC doesn't work on an HA regional or area basis, but sees the network as a whole.

Official Cars: Electric Vehicles

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of Government Car and Despatch Agency vehicles are hybrid electric vehicles.

Jim Fitzpatrick: At present, 41 per cent. of the Government Car and Despatch Agency's fleet are hybrid electric vehicles.

Railways: South Wales

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evaluation her Department has made of the  (a) punctuality and  (b) reliability of trains operated by First Great Western between London and South Wales.

Tom Harris: Improving rail performance is a key objective for the Department for Transport. Joint action plans are in place between Network Rail and First Great Western to address performance issues. Additionally, First Great Western has implemented a 40-point Recovery plan. These are monitored monthly.
	In the year to 31 March 2007 First Great Western achieved an average punctuality of 83.2 per cent. across the franchise as a whole.

Railways: South Wales

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of the standard of First Great Western's train services between London and South Wales.

Tom Harris: The Secretary of State for Transport has not undertaken an assessment of the standard of First Great Western's train services. The industry-standard public performance measure (PPM) is used to measure performance of a train operating company (TOC) across the whole of its franchise area, not specific routes in isolation. Passenger surveys are undertaken by Passenger Focus. The results of the latest National Passenger survey were published on 5 June 2007.

Shipping: ELL Action

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with her opposite numbers in other EU states about the EU's consultation paper "Towards a future Maritime Policy for the Union".

Jim Fitzpatrick: The former Minister of State, the hon. Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman) recently held a meeting with the Portuguese State Secretary for Defence and Maritime Affairs to discuss this EU consultation and the plans of the Portuguese presidency in addressing its outcome.
	In addition, officials have worked closely with those of other EU member states on this matter and have been involved in both formal community working groups and an informal 'friends of the presidency' group.

Traffic Officers: Speed Limits

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Highways Agency traffic officers have, in the course of their duties, been  (a) caught speeding and  (b) prosecuted for speeding in each of the last 24 months, broken down by region.

Tom Harris: In the last 24 months one Highways Agency traffic officer has been caught and prosecuted for speeding while in the course of their duty. This was in the North West Region, where a notice of intended prosecution was issued on 8 May 2007 in relation to an alleged speeding offence on 4 April 2007.

Train Operating Companies: Fees and Charges

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent meetings her Department has had with train operating companies to discuss pricing structures for the railways; who attended; what the outcomes were; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The Department for Transport has been discussing with the Association of Train Operating Companies about how a simple national fares structure could be introduced, with standardised ticket names, terms and conditions. Discussions are ongoing.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Drugs

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps are being taken by UK forces in the Helmand province of Afghanistan to prevent the cultivation of opium.

Bob Ainsworth: UK military forces deployed under the international security assistance force contribute to the broader counter-narcotics effort by helping to provide the secure environment in which the rule of law can be applied, reconstruction can take place and legal rural livelihoods can be developed. They are also able to provide support to Afghan led counter-narcotics operations, within the scope of the NATO operational plan. They are not there to carry out eradication themselves.

Aircraft Carriers: France

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he intends that France will participate in the construction of the UK future aircraft carriers.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 27 June 2007
	We have always stressed that co-operation with France through industry-to-industry links may offer potential benefits to both nations. It has been agreed with France that for co-operation to work, it must deliver cost savings and must do so without delaying UK or French programmes.

Armed Forces: Advisory Services

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to provide independent advisory panels to oversee welfare provision for trainee soldiers; at which barracks panels have been created; what guidance he has given on  (a) the terms of reference for and  (b) recruitment of lay persons to serve on such bodies; how the composition of panels is monitored; and what steps he has taken to involve parents of service personnel in an oversight role.

Bob Ainsworth: Independent advisory panels (IAP) have been established across the Army Recruiting and Training Division (ARTD)'s Phase 1 (Initial Training) and Phase 2 (Special-to-Arm Training) units since 18 January 2006.
	IAPs exist in the following ARTD sites:
	
		
			  Phase 1 Training sites  Phase 2( 1) 
			 Army Foundation College (Harrogate) Armoured Centre (Bovington) 
			 Army Training Regiment (Bassingbourn) Royal School of Military Engineering (Chatham and Minley) 
			 Army Training Regiment (Lichfield) Royal School of Artillery (Larkhill) 
			 Army Training Regiment (Pirbright) School of Infantry (Catterick) 
			 Army Training Regiment (Winchester) School of Army Aviation (Middle Wallop) 
			 (1) Including phase 1 and 2 combined sites 
		
	
	The Defence College of Logistics and Personnel Administration, and the ARTD Staff Leadership School are planning to have IAPs in place during 2007-08.
	The terms of reference for IAPs, developed in October 2005, include guidance on recruiting and are as follows:
	 1. Introduction
	As part of the process of implementing the recommendations of the DHALI reports, the Adjutant General has directed Director General Army Recruiting and Training to establish IAPs across the Army's training establishments at either school or regiment level but not both.
	 2. Aim
	The aim of IAPs is to provide an independent, non-statutory source of advice, challenge, encouragement and support to the training establishment in order to exchange information, provide feedback and assist in identifying possible areas for improvement.
	 3. Roles
	IAPs have the following roles:
	a. To act as a conduit for external communication for the training establishment to de-mystify the Army's individual training organisation and promote the Army's and training establishment's reputations locally.
	b. To act as a source of local feedback on local issues.
	c. To act as a "sounding board". They will support and challenge the training establishment by providing advice and encouragement on particular issues (both local and national) raised by the Commandant on an as required basis.
	 4. Limitations.
	The IAP will not override the fundamental Army principle of self-regulation vested in the commanding officer and the higher chain of command. They will have no responsibility for budgets, objective setting, policy or staff selection.
	 5. Composition
	IAPs are non-statutory bodies and their composition will depend on the circumstances for each establishment. IAPs might include opinion formers in the local community, who between them are able to speak with knowledge, credibility and experience on a range of issues that might relate to the operation of the training establishment and the training of young people. Examples might include local teachers, youth workers, social workers, councillors, religious figures (all faiths), policemen/women, businessmen/women, health professionals or sports personalities. The chairperson will be elected by the panel, and will not be a member of the training establishment. IAP membership from the training establishment could be:
	a. School Commander/Commanding Officer;
	b. Independent Complaints Officer (ICO);
	c. Welfare Officer;
	d. COS/Adjt to provide the secretarial function.
	 6. Frequency
	IAPs will meet termly (three times a year) or as the School Commander/Commanding Officer and Chairperson decide.
	 7. Output
	IAPs will write an annual report to the School Commander/Commanding Officer, recording key issues raised and action taken.
	The ongoing composition of a panel is a matter for the respective chairperson, once elected, in consultation with the respective training establishment and, externally the headquarters of the ARTD.
	While parents of service personnel are not specifically identified as potential members of the IAP, they are not excluded, and it is implicit in the Terms of reference (paragraph 3) that an IAP would wish to seek the views of recruits and trainees.

Armed Forces: Catering

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many vacancies there are for chefs in the  (a) Royal Navy,  (b) Army,  (c) Royal Air Force and  (d) Royal Marines.

Derek Twigg: The information is provided in the following table .
	
		
			  Strength and requirement of chefs in the UK regular forces as at 1 April 2007 
			   RN  RM  Army( l)  RAF 
			 Strength (2)975 (2)150 2,465 (2)690 
			 Requirement 1,000 155 2,600 600 
			 Surplus/Deficit (2)-25 (2)-5 (2)-135 (2)90 
			 FY 07/08 recruiting target 120 25 430 30 
			 (1).Army figures are as at 1 March 2007 and include Gurkhas (2) Denotes provisional. Due to the introduction of a new joint personnel administration system (JPA) data are provisional and subject to review.

Chemicals: Ballast Bank

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide funding for the clean up of chemicals and asbestos at Ballast Bank, Charlestown in Fife.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 29 June 2007
	The land in question does not belong to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and has not been used as an MOD site. Thus MOD has no responsibility for the current condition of this land, for any activities that may have taken place there in the past, or for funding on carrying out any remediation required.

Departments: European Union

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials in his Department are  (a) involved in assisting European Council negotiations,  (b) involved in assisting and advising the European Commission,  (c) seconded to the European Commission,  (d) involved in monitoring EU decisions, communications, regulations and directives,  (e) involved in enforcing compliance with EU decisions, communications, regulations and directives and  (f) involved in other work related to the European Council, Commission or Court of Justice.

Derek Twigg: In the Ministry of Defence there are four members of staff working exclusively on European Security and Defence Policy business in the Directorate for Policy on International Organisations, and one full time member of staff dealing with EU business in the Defence Equipment and Support International Relations Group. A number of other staff throughout the Department are involved for part of their time in a wide range of EU business.
	The MOD has nine military and civilian staff in the UK Military Representation to the EU in Brussels and two seconded to the UK diplomatic representation to the EU to work on European Security and Defence Policy. In addition there are 20 MOD military and civilian staff seconded to the European Council General Secretariat, including the European Union Military Staff, and eight to the European Defence Agency.
	A functional breakdown of staff roles as requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Pay

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at the Department and its agencies in each year between 1997 and 2006; and what the total cost of those bonuses was.

Derek Twigg: The numbers and values of annual appraisal related bonuses paid to members of the senior civil service (SCS) and to fixed term appointees at SCS equivalent level over the past four years are listed in tables 1 and 2. We are only able to provide information from 2003-04 as pay arrangements for SCS staff were changed from 1 April 2002; bonuses for performance during 2002-03 were paid in 2003-04. Bonuses for performance in 2006-07 are in the process of agreement through the MOD SCS Pay Committee structure and will be paid in November 2007.
	Bonuses are designed to reward those who are deemed to have made the greatest contribution, through specific in-year achievements, to departmental objectives or defence business more widely.
	
		
			  Table 1: b onuses paid to senior civil servants 
			   Number of bonuses paid  Value of bonuses paid (£) 
			 2006-07 181 1,178,500 
			 2005-06 184 918,000 
			 2004-05 136 711,737 
			 2003-04 140 701,221 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: bonuses paid to senior fixed term appointees 
			   Number of bonuses paid  Value of bonuses paid (£) 
			 2006-07 10 73,191 
			 2005-06 10 65,586 
			 2004-05 14 112,329 
			 2003-04 13 86,531

Departments: Travel

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many travel warrants were provided from Abbey Wood to Chippenham in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: A total of 17 rail tickets were issued by the Abbey Wood travel office for the 12 month period 1 July 2006 to 28 June 2007.

Ex-servicemen: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what circumstances discharged service personnel can be classed as vulnerable service leavers and eligible for priority housing.

Derek Twigg: Guidance on vulnerability of former members of the armed forces and their need for priority housing is set out in Chapter 10: Priority Need, paragraphs 10.12 (iv)—10.14 and 10.21—10.23 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities, issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government in July 2006.
	People who seek social housing, including service personnel approaching discharge or recently discharged, should apply to their local housing authority to join the waiting list for an allocation of housing under Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996
	The homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) provides a safety net for people who become homeless in a crisis. Under the legislation local housing authorities must secure suitable accommodation for housing applicants who are homeless through no fault of their own and who fall within a priority need group. This applies to all applicants who are eligible for homelessness assistance, including discharged service personnel.
	The priority need groups include, among others, applicants whose household includes a child or pregnant woman and applicants whose household includes a person who is vulnerable in some way. In 2002, the Government extended the priority need groups by Order to include, among others, applicants who are
	"vulnerable as a result of... having been a member of Her Majesty's regular naval, military or air forces".
	It is a matter of judgment by the local authority whether an applicant's circumstances make him or her vulnerable for the purposes of the legislation. Local authorities must consider whether, when homeless, the applicant would be less able to fend for him or herself than an ordinary homeless person, so that he or she would suffer injury or detriment in circumstances where a less vulnerable person would be able to cope without harmful effects.
	The potential vulnerability to homelessness of personnel due to leave the Service would be considered by the individual's resettlement officer as part of the normal discharge process, and referral made to the Joint Service Housing Advice Office as necessary, which can assist with applications for social housing.

Ex-servicemen: Mentally Ill

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British Gulf War I veterans suffering from mental health issues there are in the Stockport area; and what proportion are receiving treatment.

Derek Twigg: The MOD does not hold this information.

Gibraltar: Police

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Gibraltar Services Police Staff Association will be consulted in connection with the review of the Gibraltar Services Police.

Derek Twigg: The Gibraltar Services Police Staff Association (GSPSA) has been consulted about the conduct of the Gibraltar Policing and Security Review, in accordance with established and agreed consultation procedures. The terms of reference for the review were provided to the GSPSA, and to other interested parties, on 4 June 2007. In response to a written request from the GSPSA, an extension to the consultation period on the terms of reference was granted. They subsequently responded on 19 June 2007, and conduct of the review commenced on 20 June 2007.
	The GSPSA will also be consulted on emerging conclusions from the review in due course.

Gurkhas

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people applied for service in the Gurkhas in each of the last three years; and what the average selection time was.

Derek Twigg: Approximately 10,000 young men in Nepal applied to join the British Army as Gurkhas in 2004, with 15,000 applying in 2005 and 2006 respectively. The average selection time takes about 50 days.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to be in a position to make a detailed report of the  (a) costs and  (b) other aspects of UK involvement with Operation Telic; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The cost of operations are calculated on a net additional basis and audited figures are published each year in the MOD's annual report and accounts. The total of the annual audited figures for the cost of operations in Iraq for the years 2002-03 to 2005-06 was £4,026 million. A total estimated cost of £1,002 million for 2006-07 was included in the Spring Supplementary Estimates published in February. Final figures will be published in the MOD's annual report and accounts for 2006-07 in July.
	I have updated the House regularly on various aspects of the UK operation in Iraq.

Official Residences: Repairs and Maintenance

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what costs were incurred for maintenance at the official residence of the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The table provides maintenance costs for the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland's Official Service Residence from financial years 2001-02 to 2005-06. Information covering earlier years has not been retained.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 31,048 
			 2002-03 22,333 
			 2003-04 11,335 
			 2004-05 3,512 
			 2005-06 6,394

Princess Royal Barracks

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made in implementing the recommendations from the Deepcut Review report produced by Sir Nicholas Blake, QC, published in March 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statements of 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 91-95WS, and 28 June 2007,  Official Report, column 35WS. The Ministry of Defence is committed to maintaining the improvements already achieved, and to continuing to address the areas where performance can be improved. Independent inspection of the training environment will continue and our internal training inspection team is working hard to ensure that policy is fully implemented, change sustained and good practice shared.

Territorial Army

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) regular and  (b) Territorial Army staff work in the Inspector General's Territorial Army department, broken down by  (a) appointment and  (b) location.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 29 June 2007
	The following table shows those military staff who provide dedicated support to commander regional forces (CRF) in his capacity as Inspector General Territorial Army (IGTA). All appointments are located at HQ Land Command in Wilton, Salisbury.
	
		
			  Appointment  Status 
			 Deputy Inspector General Territorial Army (DIGTA) Territorial Army 
			 Staff Officer 2 (SO2) to DIGTA Territorial Army 
			 TA Colonel Territorial Army 
			 Colonel Territorial Army Media and Communications Territorial Army 
			 SO1 TA Projects Territorial Army 
			 Chief of Staff Regional forces Regular 
			 Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff Regional Forces and Territorial Inspectorate Regular 
			 SO2 Territorial Army (A) Plans Regular 
			 SO2 Territorial Army (B) Management Information Systems Plans Regular 
			 SO2 Territorial Army (C) Projects Territorial Army 
			 SO2 Territorial Army (D) Projects Regular 
			 SO2 Territorial Army Media Operations Territorial Army

Territorial Army: Recruitment

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the strength of the various sections of the Territorial Army have seen active deployment, broken down by  (a) officers and  (b) other ranks.

Bob Ainsworth: The Territorial Army (TA) is the reserve of first choice and its personnel are currently providing crucial support to the Regular Forces on operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. Since January 2003 around 13,000 volunteers from the TA have been mobilised on overseas operations. The ability of the TA to meet its operational requirement is closely monitored. However, there is no requirement to hold or maintain information centrally in the format requested and such data could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

World War II: Military Decorations

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will introduce a campaign medal for the servicemen and women involved in the Bomber Command campaign in the second world war; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The creation of medals is the prerogative of the Sovereign. The Sovereign takes advice from the Government of the day, who, in turn, are advised by the inter-departmental, non-political Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (known as the HD Committee), on which the armed forces are represented. In the case of campaign medals for service during the second world war, the issue was discussed exhaustively by those in command at the time and by the HD Committee. Those who served in Bomber Command during the second world war could qualify for one of the Stars instituted for campaign service for example the 1939-45 Star, the much prized Aircrew Europe Star or the France and Germany Star. World war two campaign medals were instituted for periods of military service in specified geographic areas and did not relate to individual battles, operations or military commands. The HD Committee has made it clear on many occasions that it will not revisit cases for service performed many years previously or where medals already exist for specified periods of service, both of which apply for service in Bomber Command.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued since the enactment of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 in  (a) England,  (b) the Hertfordshire police force area,  (c) the Borough of Dacorum and  (d) Hemel Hempstead constituency.

Vernon Coaker: The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 received Royal Assent on 20 November. The number of ASBOs issued in 2004 and 2005 (latest available) are:
	
		
			  Area  Number of ASBOs issued( 1) 
			 England 7,162 
			 Hertfordshire police force area 112 
			 Borough of Dacorum 12 
			 Hemel Hempstead constituency n/a(2) 
			 n/a = not available. (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) ASBO data are not available at levels below local government authority areas.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were breached in each local authority area in each of the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: ASBO breach data are currently available from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2005 for ASBOs issued since 1 June 2000 and are available at Criminal Justice System area level only. The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  The number of ASBOs proven in court to have been breached( 1,2)  for the first time between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2005 
			  CJS area  ASBOs breached 
			 Avon and Somerset 98 
			 Bedfordshire 28 
			 Cambridgeshire 30 
			 Cheshire 87 
			 Cleveland 70 
			 Cumbria 66 
			 Derbyshire 44 
			 Devon and Cornwall 46 
			 Dorset 46 
			 Durham 53 
			 Dyfed Powys 16 
			 Essex 79 
			 Gloucestershire 39 
			 Greater London 461 
			 Greater Manchester 654 
			 Gwent 42 
			 Hampshire 126 
			 Hertfordshire 50 
			 Humberside 94 
			 Kent 12 
			 Lancashire 161 
			 Leicestershire 57 
			 Lincolnshire 19 
			 Merseyside 126 
			 Norfolk 38 
			 North Wales 71 
			 North Yorkshire 34 
			 Northamptonshire 7 
			 Northumbria 127 
			 Nottinghamshire 102 
			 South Wales 54 
			 South Yorkshire 119 
			 Staffordshire 61 
			 Suffolk 63 
			 Surrey 47 
			 Sussex 111 
			 Thames Valley 70 
			 Warwickshire 38 
			 West Mercia 84 
			 West Midlands 316 
			 West Yorkshire 376 
			 Wiltshire 24 
			 England and Wales 4,246 
			 (1) ASBOs may be issued in one area and breached in another. Breaches are counted in this table in the area of breach. (2) ASBOs may be breached more than once and in more than one year. In this table ASBOs are counted once only at the time they were first breached. This table excludes ASBOs which were initially breached before 1 January 2003, regardless of whether they were breached again between 2003 and 2005.  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  OCJR Court Proceedings Database.

Antisocial Behaviour: Greater Manchester

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the levels of perception of anti-social behaviour in  (a) Greater Manchester,  (b) Stockport and  (c) Cheadle in each of the last three years; and if she make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The British Crime Survey shows that the proportion of the public who perceive a high level of antisocial behaviour in the Greater Manchester Police Force area, which includes Greater Manchester, Stockport and Cheadle, fell from 21 per cent. in 2003-04 to 20 per cent. in 2004-05 and to 1.9 per cent. in 2005-06.

Asylum: Qualifications

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research she has commissioned into the skills and qualifications held by  (a) asylum seekers and  (b) refugees.

Liam Byrne: The Department has not commissioned research on the skills and qualifications of asylum seekers.
	The Department has commissioned research on the skills and qualifications of refugees, which is reported in 'Skills Audit of Refugees', published in 2004 (Home Office Online Report 37/04). Link to publication:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/rdsolr3704.pdf
	Information on the skills and qualifications of refugees is currently being collected in a Home Office survey to evaluate the pilot phase of SUNRISE (Strategic Upgrade of National Refugee Integration Services) and also in research into the Gateway Protection Programme. This research is not yet at a stage to be reported.

Burglary: Northumbria

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many domestic burglaries there were in  (a) Houghton and Washington, East and  (b) Northumbria police authority area in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Information for the Houghton and Washington, East constituency is not available centrally. The available information relates to the Sunderland Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area and the Northumbria police force area and is given in the tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Offences of domestic burglary recorded by the police1996 and 1997 
			   Sunderland CDRP  Northumbria police force area 
			 1996 n/a 21,409 
			 1997 n/a 17,113 
			 n/a - not available 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offences of domestic burglary recorded by the police1998-99 to 2001-02 
			   Sunderland CDRP  Northumbria police force area 
			 1998-99 n/a 15,334 
			 1999-2000 3,311 12,539 
			 2000-01 3,016 11,377 
			 2001-02 2,982 11,244 
			 n/a = not available  Notes: 1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1996 and 1997. 2. The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Offences of domestic burglary recorded by the police2002-03 to 2005-06 
			   Sunderland CDRP  Northumbria police force area 
			 2002-03 2,962 11,179 
			 2003-04 2,369 10,223 
			 2004-05 1,910 7,897 
			 2005-06 1,353 6,560 
			  Note: The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Crime: Northumbria

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recorded level of crime was in  (a) Houghton and Washington, East constituency and  (b) Northumbria police authority area in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Information for the Houghton and Washington, East constituency is not available centrally. The available information relates to the Sunderland Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area and the Northumbria police force area and is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: total offences recorded by the police1996 and 1997 
			   Sunderland CDRP  Northumbria police force area 
			 1996 n/a 169,656 
			 1997 n/a 140,166 
			 n/a = not available. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: total offences recorded by the police1998-99 to 2001-02 
			   Sunderland CDRP  Northumbria police force area 
			 1998-99 n/a 151,298 
			 1999-2000 n/a 142,279 
			 2000-01 30,407 134,777 
			 2001-02 33,259 139,130 
			 n/a = not available.  Notes: 1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1996 and 1997. 2. The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: total offences recorded by the police2002-03 to 2005-06 
			   Sunderland CDRP  Northumbria police force area 
			 2002-03 38,196 165,496 
			 2003-04 34,612 157,051 
			 2004-05 30,447 142,122 
			 2005-06 28,429 131,968 
			  Note: The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Crimestoppers

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had on Crimestoppers; and what steps she is taking to promote and increase awareness of the service;
	(2)  how many people were arrested in each of the last five years as a result of information supplied to Crimestoppers.

Vernon Coaker: Information on the number of arrests as a result of information supplied to Crimestoppers is not collected centrally by the Home Office. A Home Office evaluation 'Evaluating the impact of Crimestoppers' Home Office Online Report 22/03 stated that for the year 2000 there were 5,423 successful outcomes (arrested, charged or cautioned) approximately 9 per cent. of all actionable calls. However, the actual number of positive results is higher, as there is widespread under-reporting of feedback. The report estimated this figure as close to 9,614.
	The former Home Secretary last met the Chief Executive of Crimestoppers on 25 April. The Home Office continues to support Crimestoppers through the terms of the Strategic Partnership Agreement which runs from 1 December 2004 to 31 March 2008.

Departments: European Union

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials in her Department are  (a) involved in assisting European Council negotiations,  (b) involved in assisting and advising the European Commission,  (c) seconded to the European Commission,  (d) involved in monitoring EU decisions, communications, regulations and directives,  (e) involved in enforcing compliance with EU decisions, communications, regulations and directives and  (f) involved in other work related to the European Council, Commission or Court of Justice.

Meg Hillier: Officials throughout the Home Office are involved in a full range of EU business. Those working specifically on EU business in its International Directorate currently total 19. The Border and Immigration Agency has a European and International Policy Unit, which has a total of 21 staff working on European related matters. A breakdown of the figures as requested would incur disproportionate cost.

Departments: Pay

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at her Department and its agencies in each year between 1997 and 2006; and what the total cost of those bonuses was.

Liam Byrne: Senior civil service bonuses reward, and provide incentives for, delivery of key results. Under current arrangements, bonuses are used to reward performance during the year, and are based on a judgment of how well an individual has performed relative to their peers. Records of bonus payments made to SCS members are only available from 2002.
	 2002-03
	115 out of 185 SCS staff received performance bonuses. The total costs were 463,552.
	 2003-04
	138 out of 215 SCS staff received performance bonuses. The total costs were 672,409.
	 2004-05
	180 out of 219 SCS staff received performance bonuses. The total costs were 1,187,000.
	 2005-06
	158 out of 232 SCS staff received performance bonuses. The total costs were 1,071,118.

Europol

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Government's policy is on the proposals to provide Europol with access to commercial data in the absence of a specific and credible threat; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: At present there are no formal agreements between Europol and public or private entities relating to the provision of commercial data to Europol. The Europol Information System can only be used to process data that relate to persons who are suspected of having committed or suspected of having taken part in a crime in contravention of the national law of that country, or where there are factual indicators that they will commit such an offence.
	A new legal instrument to regulate Europol's activities is currently under negotiation in the Justice and Home Affairs Council. In the context of that negotiation, the question of the provision of commercial data to Europol has yet to be discussed. However, the Government's view is that where that would involve the processing of personal data from public or private entities, it must take place exclusively via the Europol national units. The Government also believe where it is reasonable and necessary for Europol to be able to process data there must be adequate safeguards to ensure that such data are relevant for its tasks.

Proof of Age Cards

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the  (a) availability and  (b) misuse of fake proof of age cards; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: It is the responsibility of retailers to ensure that they have adequate procedures in place to prevent alcohol being sold to people aged under 18 and that their staff are appropriately trained, to enforce this. Many retailers have now adopted a 'Think 21' policy, where anyone appearing to be under 21 should be asked for identification prior to any sale of alcohol, which will prevent an offence being committed. Valid forms of identification include a passport or a driving licence with a photo.
	The Home Office also supports the Proof of Age Standards (PASS) scheme, which establishes a common standard for issuing the various proof of age cards that are available. PASS accredited cards carry a secure hologram which helps retailers to identify genuine proof of age cards. The PASS hologram on a card is the hallmark indicating that the card issuer has passed a stringent audit carried out by Trading Standards Officers and that the card may be relied upon.
	Following on from the success of the Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaigns, since May 2007 we have been conducting a national Tackling Under Age Sales of Alcohol Campaign, which is testing whether or not retailers ask for valid identification from potential underage purchasers of alcohol.

Illegal Immigrants: Malta

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial assistance has been given to Malta for tackling illegal African immigrants coming to that country.

Liam Byrne: The UK supports Maltese efforts to tackle illegal immigration both bilaterally and through the EU. Last year we sent a Chief Immigration Officer to Malta to assist a Frontex co-ordinated operation with nationality and identity interviewing techniques and a senior official to give advice on returning failed asylum seekers. Also in 2006 a Maltese official was seconded to Border and Immigration Agency for a week to learn about our detention centres. EU funding has recently been obtained for joint returns work with Malta, and the European Commission is currently considering a joint proposal from the UK, Italy and Malta for funding to establish a centre for migration intelligence analysts on Lampedusa and Malta. Malta also receives funding through EU financial instruments such as the European Refugee Fund.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to encourage chief constables to undertake similar exercises to Operation Foist in their areas.

Vernon Coaker: Operation Foist was an initiative of the Metropolitan Police. Adoption of similar exercises elsewhere is an operational matter for individual chief officers. I understand from the Metropolitan Police that a number of forces have been in touch with queries about the operation with a view to undertaking such measures themselves.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of Operation Foist in the London area.

Vernon Coaker: Operation Foist was an initiative of the Metropolitan Police that targeted uninsured drivers as a means of improving road safety and reducing criminality. The Metropolitan Police arranged for a review of the initiative's effectiveness to be carried out and I am arranging for a copy of this to be placed in the Library.

Racially Aggravated Offences: Wiltshire

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what type of offences with racial motivation were recorded by Wiltshire Constabulary which  (a) were taken to court and  (b) resulted in convictions in each year between 1997-98 and 2005-06.

Vernon Coaker: The statistics are not available in the form requested.
	Recorded crime statistics relate to offences and court proceedings data relate to offenders. In addition, recorded crime data are published on a financial year basis and court proceedings data are published on a calendar year basis. For these reasons, the two data sources are therefore not directly comparable.
	The available information relates to racially or religiously aggravated offences and is available from 1999-2000 only. Tables 1 and 2 give the number of offences recorded by the police in Wiltshire. Data on the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for all racially and religiously aggravated offences in the Wiltshire police force area are provided in Table 3.
	
		
			  Table 1:  Recorded racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by the police in Wiltshire, 1999-2000 to 2001-02 
			  Offence  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated offences of:
			 Less serious wounding 10 16 24 
			 Harassment 36 65 67 
			 Common assault 16 14 10 
			 Criminal damage to a dwelling 2 3 9 
			 Criminal damage to a building other than a dwelling 1 9 20 
			 Criminal damage to a vehicle 8 8 15 
			 Other criminal damage 4 3 4 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Recorded racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by the police in Wiltshire, 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			  Offence  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated offences of: 
			 Less serious wounding 22 35 37 37 
			 Harassment 140 147 138 167 
			 Common assault 17 26 13 13 
			 Criminal damage to a dwelling 14 11 7 9 
			 Criminal damage to a building other than a dwelling 20 14 6 17 
			 Criminal damage to a vehicle 12 5 13 8 
			 Other criminal damage 7 6 6 9 
			  Note: 1. The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for racially and religiously aggravated offences, Wiltshire police force area, 1999 to 2005( 1, 2) 
			   Proceeded against 
			   1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated offences of:
			 Less serious wounding 1 1 1 1 2 5 3 
			 Harassment 17 16 16 15 26 27 49 
			 Common assault 1 2 3 8 14 9 10 
			 Criminal damage to a dwelling
			 Criminal damage to a building other than a dwelling
			 Criminal damage to a vehicle
			 Other criminal damage  2  4 2 4 3 
		
	
	
		
			   Found guilty 
			   1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated offences of:
			 Less serious wounding   1 
			 Harassment 10 10 12 11 20 16 28 
			 Common assault   1 5 7 4 8 
			 Criminal damage to a dwelling
			 Criminal damage to a building other than a dwelling
			 Criminal damage to a vehicle
			 Other criminal damage  1  2 1 2 1 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Road Traffic Act 1988: Powers

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is given by her Department to police forces on the exercise of the powers contained in section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Vernon Coaker: The addition of section 165A to the Road Traffic Act 1988 was one of a number of roads policing measures included in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Information on all these measures and the powers they confer was given to chief officers of police at the time and has been supplemented subsequently by responses to individual enquiries. How the powers are exercised is an operational matter for individual chief officers and any guidance that might be issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Theft: Bicycles

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) prosecuted and  (b) sentenced for bicycle thefts in London in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of persons prosecuted at magistrates courts and sentenced at all courts for bicycle theft, in Greater London ,  2001 - 05( 1, 2) 
			   Proceeded against  Sentenced 
			 2001 143 90 
			 2002 151 106 
			 2003 127 84 
			 2004 132 96 
			 2005 159 121 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

War Criminals

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2007,  Official Report, column 144W, on war criminals, 
	(1)  whether the police have contacted Vladimir Aleksandrovich Titov (State Counsel of Justice, 2nd Class, Chief of Administration of Surveillance for the Implementation of Laws concerning Federal Security) at the Office of the Procurator General of the Russian Federation, 2nd Tekhnicheskii Pereulok, Moscow, 103793, Russian Federation; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  on war criminals, why bilateral discussions have not taken place with Leitender Oberstaatsanwalt Kurt Schrimm (Director), Zentrale Stelle der Landesjustizverwaltungen zur Aufklrung von NS-Verbrechen, Schorndorfer Str. 58, 71638 Ludwigsburg (Federal Republic of Germany).

Meg Hillier: I understand that the police are aware of these potential sources of information on Nazi war crimes but, in the absence of specific allegations against any named individual in the UK, the police do not have any immediate plans to contact them.

War Criminals

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2007,  Official Report, column 146W, on war criminals, whether progress has been made with the request for information about the withdrawal of German pensions from residents following the German War Victims Relief Act from Herrn Dr. Eckhard Assman, Bundesministerium fr Arbeit und Soziales.

Meg Hillier: I understand that the Metropolitan Police have still to receive any indication that the German authorities have withdrawn a pension from anyone resident in the UK because of involvement in war crimes during the Second World War.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Autism: Judiciary

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to raise the level of autism awareness among the  (a) Northern Ireland Prison Service,  (b) Police Service of Northern Ireland,  (c) Juvenile Justice Centre and  (d) Public Prosecution Service staff.

Paul Goggins: As regards the Prison Service, when individual prisoners are identified as suffering from autistic spectrum disorders healthcare staff will engage with other relevant staff, including safer custody group and residential staff, to provide information about autism and offer guidance on assisting and managing the prisoner. Such prisoners will also be supported by education and psychology staff.
	The PSNI has a number of initiatives to raise awareness including:
	assistance with the production of the 'Criminal Justice System Autism Guide', which is distributed at PSNI training events;
	showing a videoed scenario of a police officer coming into contact with a young person with Aspergers syndrome at officers' diversity training;
	giving practical advice on the handling of such situations through role play devised in conjunction with Mencap;
	liaison with the promoter of the Autism Spectrum Disorder identity card to develop an online awareness raising programme on what this card represents and how to proceed if this card is shown to them.
	The Juvenile Justice centre runs regular awareness raising sessions in relation to young people who are on the autism spectrum. These are run in conjunction with Autism NT.
	The Public Prosecution Service has limited interaction with the general public and therefore has no specific training intervention.

Autism: Judiciary

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has assessed the partnership between Dyfed Powys Police, North Wales Police and Autism Cymru to develop an assessment of the needs of people with autistic spectrum disorders; and if he will introduce a similar scheme in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: PSNI has not been in direct liaison with the Welsh Police authorities on the subject of autistic spectrum disorders. Ongoing efforts are, however, being made to meet the needs of those affected by this condition. Specifically, PSNI has been working with the promoter of the autistic spectrum disorder identity card, developing an on-line programme to raise awareness among officers across the organisation as to what this card represents and how to proceed when it is shown to them. The Police Service remains committed to meeting the needs of those affected by autism and related conditions, and will put in place farther measures as and when required.

Customs Officers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many uniformed HM Revenue and Customs officers are deployed in a full-time capacity in Northern Ireland, excluding intelligence and investigation officers, working on  (a) fuel smuggling,  (b) tobacco goods and  (c) road fuel offences.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	There are 85 uniformed multi-functional HMRC officers deployed in Northern Ireland to meet the full range of HMRC enforcement duties including tackling fuel smuggling, tobacco smuggling and road fuel offences. They are regularly augmented by additional deployments of uniformed HMRC teams from other parts of the UK according to the assessed risk.

Departments: Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in his Department in the last three years; and at what total cost.

Paul Goggins: In respect of the 2003-04 reporting year, 1,670 staff received a bonus, at a total cost of 475,080;
	In respect of the 2004-05 reporting year, 1,731 staff received a bonus, at a total cost of 629,742,
	In respect of the 2005-06 reporting year, 1,024 staff received a bonus, at a total cost of 686,425.

Ports

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vessels from  (a) EU states and  (b) non-EU were searched by HM Revenue and Customs in Northern Ireland ports in each of the last two years.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of vessels searched by HMRC in Northern Ireland in each of the last two years is two in the year ended 31 March 2006, and one in the year ended 31 March 2007. These vessels were all from non-EU states.

Public Expenditure

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1263W, what the outcome was of his discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding programmes for Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has made available over 51 billion extra spending for Northern Ireland for the next four years to meet the economic and political priorities of an incoming Northern Ireland Executive.
	Full details of the financial package were announced by the Chancellor in his statement to Parliament on 8 May 2007, Official Report, column 2WS.

Smuggling: Fuels

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicles were detected smuggling fuel into Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of vehicles detected smuggling fuel into Northern Ireland for each of the last three years was:
	
		
			  As at 31 March each year  Number 
			 2005 108 
			 2006 67 
			 2007 37

Smuggling: Fuels

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what total quantity of fuel being smuggled into Northern Ireland was seized in each of the last three years.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The total quantity of fuel smuggled into Northern Ireland and seized for each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			  As at 31 March each year  Litres 
			 2005 301,020 
			 2006 297,260 
			 2007 240,600

Smuggling: Fuels

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what volume of fuel being smuggled from Northern Ireland to  (a) the Republic of Ireland and  (b) mainland Great Britain was seized in each of the last three years.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is as follows.
	 (a) Fuel smuggled from Northern Ireland into the Republic of Ireland is a matter dealt with by the Republic of Ireland authorities. HMRC have no record of seizures made in the Republic of Ireland.
	 (b) It is not a smuggling offence to transport fuel from Northern Ireland to mainland Great Britain, as this is an internal movement within the United Kingdom. Therefore, no such seizures have been made.

JUSTICE

Asylum: Appeals

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for statutory review of a refusal to grant asylum were submitted in each year since 1997; how many such applications were granted; and how many substantive re-hearings of asylum applications were successful.

Bridget Prentice: Appeals against a decision to refuse asylum are heard by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) and prior to April 2005 its predecessor, the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA). Appeals are heard by an Immigration Judge (IJ) of the AIT. Volumes of asylum appeals since 1997 were:
	
		
			  Calendar year  Adjudicator/Immigration Judge receipts 
			 1997 22,387 
			 1998 15,442 
			 1999 7,775 
			 2000 28,565 
			 2001 47,906 
			 2002 64,127 
			 2003 70,577 
			 2004 47,002 
			 2005 24,891 
			 2006 14,863 
			 Total 343,535 
		
	
	Following a decision on appeal, the unsuccessful party can apply for it to be reviewed on the ground that the IJ made an error of law. The provisions on review were established under Section 101 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum (NIA) Act 2002 and amended by the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) (AITC) Act 2004.
	Prior to April 2005, in an appeal to the IAA, the losing party could apply to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal (IAT) for permission to appeal against the decision on a point of law. If refused permission to appeal, the party could apply to the High Court (or the Court of Session in Scotland) for statutory review of that decision, on the ground that the Tribunal had made an error of law. If the High Court granted the application, the case was remitted to the IAT.
	Since April 2005, losing parties in appeals to the AIT can apply for review of the decision via a transitional 'filter' provision. Applications are considered by Senior Immigration Judges (SIJs) of the AIT. If the application is granted, the SIJ will make an order requiring the AIT to reconsider its decision. If the application is refused, the party can 'opt in' to the High Court for statutory review, which is decided by a High Court Judge on consideration of the papers. If the High Court grants the application, an order requiring the AIT to reconsider its decision will be made.
	Information is provided for the Tribunal's permission/filter applications and for the High Court from 2003 when the statutory review provisions commenced:
	
		
			  Calendar year  IAT permissions applications/AIT filter application decisions (Asylum)  Granted  Asylum applications received at the High Court  Applications allowed 
			 1997 8,128
			 1998 10,313
			 1999 9,575
			 2000 5,488
			 2001 13,538 4,197   
			 2002 22,823 6,847   
			 2003 32,178 11,906 410 93 
			 2004 30,519 9,438 1,840 343 
			 2005 24,711 5,447 3,784 499 
			 2006 8,082 2,291 2,193 172 
			 Total 165,355  8,227  
		
	
	If an application is granted, either by the AIT or the High Court, the appeal falls to be considered afresh by the AIT. Appeals reconsidered and allowed by the AIT and the IAT, pre-April 2005, were:
	
		
			  Calendar year  IAT Appeals/AIT reconsiderations (Asylum)  Allowed 
			 1997 1,373  
			 1998 1,089  
			 1999 1,790  
			 2000 2,637  
			 2001 3,190 447 
			 2002 5,563 668 
			 2003 9,451 1,418 
			 2004 8,783 1,040 
			 2005 7,054 1,269 
			 2006 4,201 1,227 
			 Total 45,131  
		
	
	In appeals to the IAT (i.e. those prior to April 2005), the outcome (allowed or dismissed) relates to the party who lodged the appeal to the IAT, so may have been the respondent in the initial appeal to the IAA. Since April 2005, where an appeal is reconsidered by the AIT, the outcome relates to the appeal and not to the application for review. Thus, where an appeal is allowed on reconsideration, that represents a decision in the appellant's favour.

Departments: Pay

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what criteria were used by his Department to determine the paybands of departmental staff; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: All staff employed by Ministry of Justice from the former DCA (including HMCS and Tribunals Service staff) will be invited to opt into a new pay deal which incorporates a regional pay structure. These arrangements do not apply to staff employed by the Home Office or its agencies who transferred to the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007.
	Regional pay is a reality in the economy as a wholepay variations by location are not new. The system we are introducing offers greater coherence, greater transparency and enables us to target public money most effectively on those areas where there is greatest need. It will allow us to offer competitive salaries to attract and retain staff with the skills we need, where we need them.
	In establishing our pay ranges we have explored pay related data for each of the regions of Great Britain (as defined by National Statistics, excluding Northern Ireland). This has included analysing data on average weekly pay and unemployment rates, salary surveys from reputable sources, pay data from other Government Departments and our own staff recruitment and retention data. We have also taken specialist advice from external consultants.
	Decisions on the allocation of an office to a pay range were made using that data and following consultation with senior local managers. The involvement of local managers has ensured that local factors, which the economic data might not capture, can be properly reflected in the decisions.
	Since the employment market does change over time, we have agreed an annual review mechanism. If the market changes significantly, the allocation of an office to a pay range can be adjusted accordingly.

Electronic Tagging

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many persons currently ordered by the courts to be tagged  (a) as part of their bail conditions,  (b) as part of an early release scheme and  (c) as part of their sentence, have not yet had the tagging technology activated; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the longest period was between a court ordering a person in the community to be tagged and that tag not having been activated as at 21 June 2007;
	(3)  for what reasons some persons ordered to be tagged by the courts as part of  (a) their bail conditions,  (b) early release schemes and  (c) their sentence have not yet had the tagging technology activated; and if he make a statement.

David Hanson: Data relating to installation of electronic monitoring equipment are not routinely collected by the monitoring contractors in the format requested, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. From 1 January 2007 to 31 May 2007, the latest period for which figures are available, the contractors installed the monitoring equipment in 99.37 per cent. of audited cases within 24 hours of notification by a Court or Prison.
	It is the intention of the Department that all persons are tagged at the earliest opportunity. Installation of equipment may not happen for a number of different reasons. The subject may be delayed in travelling to the curfew address from court or custody, or be curfewed to an address with multiple accommodation such as flats or apartments where the contractor may have initial difficulty in accessing the building.
	Prompt follow-up action is required by the contractor under such circumstances. If the person is absent at the first attempt the contractor will report the failure to the relevant supervising agency or the Court if the person is not under supervision. One further attempt must be made to complete installation within 24 hours of the start of the first monitoring period. If the second installation attempt is unsuccessful the contractor must report the failure as a breach of the curfew.

Electronic Tagging: Stockport

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offences were committed by tagged offenders in Stockport in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005,  (d) 2006 and  (e) 2007.

David Hanson: Data on re-offending by offenders wearing electronic tags are collated centrally only in respect of offenders released on to the home detention curfew scheme. The data are not broken down by areas in which subsequent offences are committed. To provide such information would involve a manual trawl of the data and would incur disproportionate cost.

Family Courts

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many children, and which organisations representing children, responded to the Confidence and Confidentiality consultation on family courts;
	(2)   (a) how many children, and  (b) which organisations representing children, his Department has sent the consultation document Openness in Family Courts.

Bridget Prentice: Over 200 children and young people contributed their views to the consultation on Confidence and Confidentiality. Some of them did this by registering on our online discussion forum (32) or visiting the Minister (three children from Southwark council). Some of them did this by attending one of various events held around the country (104 at a children's rights event in Leicester; 13 at an event run by the Family Justice Council/National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) in Birkenhead; 32 took part in a mock hearing run by the Children's Commissioner). Others submitted their views as part of a broader response from local authorities (including Oldham and Calderdale) and children's organisations (including NYAS and Voice of the Child in Care). Still others (12) produced a video about young people's views with help from CAFCASS.
	Formal responses were received from the British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, By the Bridge, Voice, the National Children's Bureau and NSPCC. The full list is available at annex A of the response paper at:
	http://www.dca.gov.uk/consult/courttransparencey1106/response-cp1106.pdf.
	The consultation document was published on 20 June and mailed to over 800 individuals and organisations. The initial mail-out included 148 directors of children's services across England and Wales. In addition, copies were sent to a large number of voluntary organisations that represent children and ensure their voice is heard, such as Young Voice and Voice for the Child in Care. It was sent to organisations that offer children support, including Childline, the Children's Society, Action for Children and the NSPCC. It was sent to organisations that protect children's rights, such as Children's Rights Alliance for England, the Children's Legal Centre and National Children's Bureau.

Prisoners Release: Compensation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been paid in compensation for board to prisoners who have been released early in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

David Hanson: I have presumed that the hon. Gentleman refers to 'compensation for board' as the subsistence payment in lieu of benefits made to prisoners being released on an end of custody licence (ECL) and that 'released early' refers to the ECL, home detention curfew (HDC) or parole.
	The ECL came into use on 29 June 2007 and no figures are yet available for the amount which has been paid for subsistence. This payment is made because prisoners on an ECL are released under temporary licence from prison in accordance with the provisions of the Prisons Act 1952 and, as such, are statutorily ineligible to receive benefits payments.
	Prisoners released on HDC or on parole receive benefits payments, if eligible within normal terms so there is no additional payment.

Prisoners Release: Winchester Prison

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners are to be released from Winchester Prison under the Government's recent early release proposals in the next 12 months.

David Hanson: Figures for release are not available to be broken down by establishment.

Prisoners: Rehabilitation Centres

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners received treatment through the detoxification unit at Cardiff Prison in each year since it was established; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The following numbers of prisoners have received treatment through the detoxification unit at Cardiff prison since it opened on 13 September 2004.
	
		
			   Number 
			 September 2004-August 2005 1,051 
			 September 2005-August 2006 915 
			 September 2006-2 July 2007 558

Prisons: Labour Turnover

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the rate of staff turnover in the Prison Service in prisons in Wales was in each month since 2002; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Information on the rate of staff turnover in public sector prisons in Wales, expressed as a percentage of total staff in post, is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Proportion of staff leaving public sector prison service establishments in Wales as a percentage of total staff in post. Each monthJanuary 2002 to March 2007 
			   Monthly turnover r ate (percentage  of staff leaving in month) 
			  2002  
			 January 0.7 
			 February 0.8 
			 March 1.7 
			 April 0.6 
			 May 0.2 
			 June 0.4 
			 July 0.4 
			 August 0.8 
			 September 1.0 
			 October 1.3 
			 November 0.7 
			 December 1.1 
			   
			  2003  
			 January 0.6 
			 February 0.8 
			 March 0.7 
			 April 1.3 
			 May 1.6 
			 June 0.7 
			 July 0.5 
			 August 0.7 
			 September 0.8 
			 October 0.9 
			 November 0.4 
			 December 0.3 
			   
			  2004  
			 January 0.1 
			 February 1.6 
			 March 0.8 
			 April 0.5 
			 May 0.8 
			 June 0.9 
			 July 0.7 
			 August 0.7 
			 September 0.8 
			 October 0.5 
			 November 0.5 
			 December 0.8 
			   
			  2005  
			 January 0.1 
			 February 0.3 
			 March 0.6 
			 April 0.2 
			 May 0.3 
			 June 0.3 
			 July 0.7 
			 August 0.5 
			 September 1.5 
			 October 0.7 
			 November 0.4 
			 December 1.1 
			   
			  2006  
			 January 0.3 
			 February 0.7 
			 March 0.0 
			 April 0.8 
			 May 0.6 
			 June 1.0 
			 July 1.0 
			 August 1.1 
			 September 0.6 
			 October 0.9 
			 November 0.5 
			 December 0.6 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 0.7 
			 February 1.1 
			 March 0.8 
			  Note:  These figures do not include staff transferring to other parts of the Prison Service.

Prisons: Wales

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to respond to the report by the Welsh Affairs Committee on the prisons estate in Wales.

David Hanson: We expect to respond to the report week commencing 6 August 2007.

Victim Support Schemes: Expenditure

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1733W, on victim support schemes: expenditure, what his estimate is of the annual total funding for the support of victims and witnesses since 2002 in addition to the grant to Victim Support.

David Hanson: Information on funding for victims and witnesses is not held centrally in this way. However funding to support victims and witnesses includes those in the following table:
	There is other funding from this and other Government departments and local government which also includes elements that support victims and witnesses including:
	Police
	NHS
	Local Authorities
	Local Criminal Justice Boards
	Safeguarding children partnerships
	Housing
	Connected Fund help to support victims of gun and knife crime, and gang violence.
	
		
			   
			   2001- 0 2  2002- 0 3  2003- 0 4  2004- 0 5  2005- 0 6  2006- 0 7 
			 Compensation paid by criminal injuries compensation scheme (old scheme and tariff scheme cases) 233.5 million 232. 1 million 227.5 million 186.2 million 183.9 million 190.1 million 
			 Domestic violence (including regional initiatives, helpline, specialist domestic violence courts and independent domestic violence advisors) n/a 8.54 million 8.65 million 4 million 5.5 million 6 million 
			 Sexual violence (including sexual assault referral centres, victims fund grants, umbrella organisations, independent sexual violence advisors) 406,000 432,000 300,000 1 million 3 million 3 million 
			 POPPY projects (victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation) n/a 33,000 216,000 593,000 620,000 1.2 million 
			 Witness care units n/a n/a n/a 36.1 million 
			 Court waiting facilities n/a n/a n/a n/a 3.1 million 368,700 
			 Court video links n/a n/a n/a n/a 2.6 million 2.75 million 
			 Police video recording facilities n/a n/a 2 million n/a n/a n/a 
			 The self help organisation, support after murder and manslaughter 120,000 130,000 140,000 140,000 140,000 140,000 
			 Victim and witness delivery fund for LCJBs n/a n/a n/a 150,000 n/a 200,000 
			 Memorial service n/a 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 
			 Donation to London bombings relief charitable fund (for victims of terrorism in the UK) n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 million 2.5 million 
			 7July Assistance Centre n/a n/a n/a n/a 89,425 204,797 
			 Tsunami support network n/a n/a n/a n/a 121,927 n/a 
			 Charitable fund for victims of overseas terrorism n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 million n/a 
			 n/a = Figures are either not available, not quantifiable or not known.

Young Offender Institutions: Overcrowding

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of levels of overcrowding at young offenders institutions; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The assessment of the occupancy of all prisoner accommodation is undertaken by senior operational managers in line with national guidance (Prison Service Order 1900 Certified Prisoner Accommodation) which details measurable standards for the certification of cells that can be applied consistently across the estate and contributes to providing decent living conditions for all prisoners.

TREASURY

Babies: Down's Syndrome

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many  (a) births and  (b) terminations there were of babies with Down's Syndrome in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many  (a) births and  (b) terminations there were of babies with (i) spina bifida, (ii) heart defects and (iii) kidney problems recognised during pregnancy in each of the last five years.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 4 July 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent questions asking how many (a) births and (b) terminations there were of babies with Down's Syndrome in each of the last five years (147008); and how many (a) births and (b) terminations there were of babies with (i) spina bifida, (ii) heart defects and (iii) kidney problems recognised in pregnancy in each of the last five years (147009). I am replying in her absence.
	The table attached provides (a) the number of births notified to the National Congenital Anomaly System for England and Wales (NCAS) with a mention of (i) Down Syndrome, (ii) spina bifida, (iii) any cardiovascular anomaly, and (iv) selected renal anomalies, for 2001 to 2005 (the latest year available); and (b) the number of legal abortions reported to the Chief Medical Officers for England and Wales under Ground E of the Abortion Act 1967 with a mention of these anomalies, for 2001 to 2006 (the latest year available).
	The number of notifications received by NCAS is likely to be less than the actual number of infants born with an anomaly. NHS Trusts provide these notifications to NCAS on a voluntary basis, either on forms sent to ONS or via local congenital anomaly registers. The recording of congenital anomalies is more complete in those areas where a register operates, because the register can obtain additional information locally. Consequently, the figures for congenital anomalies are presented separately for areas where a register operated in 2005 and for areas without a register in that year. In 2005, registers covered 45 per cent of births in England and all births in Wales.
	While a few of these local congenital anomaly registers were already established in 2001, others were set up as late as 2003. Increases over time in the number of notifications for some congenital anomalies in the areas covered by a register in 2005 are likely to be due to the improved completeness of information brought about as these registers came into operation.
	Congenital anomalies are reported to NCAS at or after birth, and do not include any information on whether or not the anomaly was diagnosed during pregnancy.
	Abortions are carried out under Ground E of the Abortion Act only if there is substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped. Therefore, the anomaly must by definition have been diagnosed during pregnancy.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of notifications of selected congenital anomalies( 1) , 2001-05 and abortions( 2) , 2001-06, England and Wales( 3, 4) 
			  Number 
			   Congenital anomalies  
			   Register areas  Non-register areas  All areas  Abortions 
			  Down syndrome 
			 2001 253 128 381 347 
			 2002 220 138 358 372 
			 2003 282 122 404 401 
			 2004 364 111 475 419 
			 2005 350 103 453 429 
			 2006436 
			  
			  Spina bifida 
			 2001 34 25 59 127 
			 2002 46 29 75 98 
			 2003 41 40 81 118 
			 2004 53 25 78 90 
			 2005 34 22 56 121 
			 2006106 
			  
			  Cardiovascular anomalies 
			 2001 1,029 253 1,282 110 
			 2002 1,031 260 1,291 103 
			 2003 1,359 179 1,538 108 
			 2004 1,282 159 1,441 147 
			 2005 1,255 142 1,397 111 
			 2006129 
			  
			  Selected renal anomalies( 5) 
			 2001 461 232 693 48 
			 2002 517 217 734 43 
			 2003 645 190 835 56 
			 2004 622 162 784 43 
			 2005 615 161 776 45 
			 200632 
			 (1) Live and still births notified to the National Congenital Anomalies System with a mention of the anomalies listed. (2) Legal abortions performed under Ground E of the Abortion Act 1967. Figures provided by Department of Health. (3) Births and abortions to women resident in England and Wales. (4) Down Syndrome is defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) code Q90, spina bifida using code Q05, and cardiovascular anomalies using codes Q20-Q28. Selected renal anomalies were defined using ICD-10 codes Q60-Q61, Q62.0 and Q63 for congenital anomalies and codes Q60-Q61 for abortions. (5) Congenital anomaly figures for selected renal anomalies are provisional.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1495W, on departmental expenditure, whether the 50,955 is in addition to the 133,237 referred to in the answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, column 196W.

Angela Eagle: The figure of 50,955 including VAT in the answer of the former Financial Secretary (John Healey) on 18 June 2007 was additional to the figure of 133,237 excluding VAT in the answer of 4 December 2006.

Departments: Block Grant

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annual block grant was for the Home Department in each year since 2002.

Andy Burnham: The budget for the Home Office is set as part of the three-year spending review cycle. The following table sets out the Home Office budget for capital and resource since 2002. Future budget allocations will reflect transfers of responsibility following the creation of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007.
	
		
			   million 
			   Resource  Capital 
			 2002-03 11,910 929 
			 2003-04 12,004 941 
			 2004-05 12,232 998 
			 2005-06 12,703 1,034 
			 2006-07 estimated 13,218 1,261

Departments: Disclosure of Information

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many requests for internal review made to his Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 have taken longer than 40 working days to complete.

Angela Eagle: There is no statutory obligation on public authorities to complete internal reviews within a specified timeframe.

Departments: Disclosure of Information

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Minister agreed to each use by his Department of a section 36 exemption to withhold information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and on which dates.

Angela Eagle: As is common with other departments HMT's departmental minister oversees the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act.

Departments: Pensions

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of staff in his Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions; and what steps he has taken in the last year to encourage more people to make such contributions.

Angela Eagle: 89 members of staff in HM Treasury (8 per cent. of the total number of staff employed by the Department) currently make additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay.
	Pension scheme members receive an annual benefit statement showing the pension built up to date, and also a projection of pension on retirement if the member continues in service to scheme pension age. The benefit statement provides details of the civil service pensions website where staff can obtain further information, including on options for making additional voluntary contributions to boost their pension.

Departments: Public Transport

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the number of its staff using public transport to commute.

Angela Eagle: The Department has not estimated the number of its staff using public transport to commute. Treasury encourages the use of public transport and cycling to work by providing interest-free loans for the purchase of public transport season tickets and participation in the Cycle to Work scheme.

Ministers: Taxation

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what advice HM Revenue and Customs has provided on the tax status of official ministerial residences;
	(2)  what guidance HM Revenue and Customs has produced on whether ministerial severance payments under the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 are liable to  (a) income tax and  (b) National Insurance contributions.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC provides guidance on a range of tax and national insurance issues both in a booklet about tax for Members of Parliament and Ministers and in the notes to the parliament pages of the self-assessment return.

Planning Gain Supplement: Local Authorities

Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultation his Department has undertaken with local authorities on the distribution of planning-gain supplement.

Angela Eagle: The Government have consulted extensively with local authorities and other stakeholders throughout the development of the proposals for the planning-gain supplement.

Planning Gain Supplement: Local Authorities

Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of planning-gain supplement he proposes to return to the local authorities within whose area it is generated; and whether the remainder will be allocated to the region within which it is generated.

Angela Eagle: The Government set out their proposals for the allocation of planning-gain supplement revenues in paragraph 3.149 - 3.154 of Budget 2007 which is available in the Library of the House.

Public Services Productivity Panel

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what contribution John Miskelly made through work on the Public Services Productivity Panel;
	(2)  over what periods John Miskelly was employed on the Public Services Productivity Panel.

Angela Eagle: John Miskelly was appointed a member of the Public Services Productivity Panel in September 2000, he resigned from the panel on 31 October 2001. During that time he attended two meetings of the panel.

Revenue and Customs: Kettering

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider  (a) amalgamating the tax offices in Kettering into one building and  (b) not relocating the staff to Northampton or Leicester.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs are currently reviewing the Northampton urban centre, which includes Kettering, and no decisions have yet been made.
	I will consider all representations that have been made to me on this subject from hon. Members, staff and Trade Unions alongside the impact on customers, staff and diversity before coming to a view. HMRC will retain an inquiry centre presence in Kettering irrespective of the outcome of the review.

Revenue and Customs: Sunderland

Chris Mullin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with Mapeley about the feasibility of finding alternative uses for Shackleton and Gilbridge Houses in Sunderland if HM Revenue and Customs withdraws from Sunderland city centre; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are currently undertaking a review of the Newcastle, Sunderland and Washington urban centre. No decisions have yet been made. HMRC have not discussed the feasibility of finding alternative uses for Shackleton and Gilbridge Houses in Sunderland with Mapeley.

Revenue and Customs: Sunderland

Chris Mullin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely impact on the economy of Sunderland city centre of the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs offices in Gilbridge and Shackleton houses; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs are currently undertaking a review of the Newcastle, Sunderland and Washington urban centre. No decisions have yet been made.
	The review process includes the production of an impact assessment which considers the social and economic effects of closure on the wider community, as well as on staff and customers.

Teenage Pregnancy: Stockport

Mark Hunter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the teenage conception rate was for  (a) the Stockport Primary Care Trust area and  (b) Cheadle at the latest date for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 4 July 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the teenage conception rate was for  (a) the Stockport Primary Care Trust area and  (b) Cheadle at the latest date for which figures are available. I am replying in her absence. (147257)
	ONS does not routinely produce teenage conception figures for girls aged under 20 by Primary Care Trust (PCT) because there is a risk of disclosure of information about individuals due to differences in boundaries between PCTs and local authorities.
	Figures for girls aged under 18 are however published at local authority level and figures for the Metropolitan District of Stockport for 2005 (the most recent year for which figures are available) are shown in the table below and are estimates of the number of conceptions that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or legal termination. Figures for 2005 are provisional.
	
		
			  Under 18 conceptions: number and rate for Stockport Metropolitan District 2005( 1) 
			   Under 18 
			   Number  Rate( 2) 
			 Stockport MD 190 33 
			 (1 )Figures for 2005 are provisional. (2) Rate per 1,000 females aged 15-17.

Unemployment

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the number of 18 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training in  (a) the UK,  (b) Northamptonshire and  (c) Kettering constituency.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 4 July 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about young people not in employment, education or training. I am replying in her absence. (146405)
	There were 992,000 people, aged 18 to 24, resident in the United Kingdom, who were not in full-time education, employment or training, based on data from the Annual Population Survey, for the 12 months ending in December 2006. This is 19 per cent of the 18 to 24 population. The corresponding estimates for the county of Northamptonshire are 12,000 and 21 per cent respectively. For the Kettering constituency, the corresponding estimates are 2,000 and 17 per cent respectively.
	Estimates for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. This is particularly true for the estimates for Northamptonshire and Kettering.

Unemployment

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in  (a) England and  (b) Milton Keynes were classed as unemployed in each year between 1997 and 2007.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 4 July 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in (a) England and (b) Milton Keynes have been classed as unemployed in each year between 1997 and 2007. I am replying in her absence. (146671)
	For unitary and local authorities, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces estimates of total unemployment, following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions, from a statistical model. Annual estimates for other areas are compiled from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following ILO definitions.
	Table 1, attached, shows the number of persons aged 16 and over, resident in England, who were unemployed and the corresponding unemployment rate, for the 12 months ending in February 1997 to February 2004 from the annual local area LFS, and for the 12 months ending in March 2005 to March 2006 from the APS. Table 1 also shows corresponding model-based estimates for the Milton Keynes unitary authority.
	The LFS and APS data and the model-based estimates are all subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (ISA). Table 2, attached, shows the annual average number of people, resident in England and the Milton Keynes unitary authority, claiming ISA from 1997 to 2006. Also shown are the total numbers of claimants as percentages of the resident working age population.
	
		
			  Table 1: unemployed persons, aged 16 and over, resident in England and Milton Keynes 
			  T housand 
			   England  Milton Keynes 
			  12 months ending:  Level( 1)  Rate( 1,2)  (percentage)  Level( 3)  Rate( 2,3)  (percentage) 
			 February 1997 1,820 7.7 5 5.0 
			 February 1998 1,566 6.6 6 5.9 
			 February 1999 1,399 5.9 5 5.2 
			 February 2000 1,373 5.7 4 3.9 
			 February 2001 1,228 5.1 4 3.3 
			 February 2002 1,167 4.8 4 3.5 
			 February 2003 1,218 5.0 6 4.8 
			 February 2004 1,188 4.8 6 4.8 
			 March 2005 1,146 4.6 5 4.4 
			 March 2006 1,238 5.0 6 4.8 
			 (1) Annual local area Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey data subject to a margin of uncertainty associated with sampling variability. (2) Unemployed as a percentage of the economically active population. (3) Model-based estimates subject to a margin of uncertainty associated with the statistical model. Changes in the estimates over time should be treated with particular caution.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey; ONS 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: annual average number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance resident in England and Milton Keynes and the number expressed as a percentage of the working age population 
			   England  Milton Keynes 
			   Number  Proportion( 1)  (percentage)  Number  Proportion( 1)  (percentage) 
			 1997 1,299,117 4.4 3,610 2.8 
			 1998 1,093,570 3.7 2,591 2.0 
			 1999 1,013,507 3.4 2,358 1.8 
			 2000 882,827 2.9 2,085 1.5 
			 2001 783,582 2.6 1,976 1.4 
			 2002 770,102 2.5 2,337 1.7 
			 2003 763,771 2.5 2,678 1.9 
			 2004 699,669 2.3 2,590 1.8 
			 2005 715,546 2.3 2,683 1.9 
			 2006 794,356 2.5 3,193 2.2 
			 (1) Number of claimants expressed as a percentage of the resident working-age population.  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data

Unemployment

Boris Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) 16,  (b) 17,  (c) 18,  (d) 19,  (e) 20  (f) 21,  (g) 22,  (h) 23 and  (i) 24 year olds were (i) economically inactive and not in full-time education and (ii) unemployed in each year since 1997, broken down by (A) parliamentary constituency, (B) local education authority area and (C) region.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 4 July 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) 16, (b) 17, (c) 18, (d) 19, (e) 20, (f) 21, (g) 22, (h) 23 and (i) 24 year olds were (i) economically inactive and not in full-time education and (ii) unemployed in each year since 1997, broken down by (A) parliamentary constituency, (b) local education authority area and (C) region. I am replying in her absence. (147035)
	Information in the form requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. To provide an answer requires retrieving 18 separate estimates from complex datasets for each parliamentary constituency, each local education authority area and each region for 10 separate years. This data, amounting to 150,000 separate estimates in total, would then need to be presented in tables and be quality assured.

Valuation Office: Contracts

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 26 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1323W, on Valuation Office: contracts, if he will place in the Library a copy of the ASPIRE terms and conditions which relate to confidentiality.

Jane Kennedy: As my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury stated in his answer of 26 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1323W, the ASPIRE terms and conditions prohibit the publicising of details of this agreement. However, in respect of the specific information requested, the Government have obtained the agreement of both parties to the contract to place a copy of the clauses relating to confidentiality in the Library of the House. These include the statutory safeguards provided for by Section 182 of the Finance Act 1989, Section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, Section 6 of the Taxes Management Act 1970 or Section 123 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992. A copy of the ASPIRE terms and conditions relating to confidentiality have been placed in the Library.

VAT: Disability Aids

Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on value added tax and the purchase of aids and equipment for the elderly.

Jane Kennedy: As announced at Budget 2007, from 1 July the VAT chargeable on certain home adaptations that are designed to support the needs of elderly people will be reduced to 5 per cent. the lowest rate available under our European VAT agreements. The precise scope of this new relief was outlined in HMRC Brief 47/07 which is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/brief/charities/brief4707.htm.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimates he has made of the proportion of tax credit overpayments which are caused by official error; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 25 June 2007,  Official Report, column 416W.

Welfare Tax Credits: Telephone Services

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many calls to the tax credits helpline were dealt with by private sector companies in each month from January 2003 to June 2007; how many of these were not recorded; and what steps are taken to notify claimants of this fact, where relevant, when they appeal against overpaid tax credits.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC supplemented its internal Contact Centre capacity with the use of private sector companies to deliver tax credit services during 2003-04. The table lists the monthly calls handled by these suppliers for the period requested. During any months in the period in question, where a value is not shown for calls handled, HMRC did not need to use private sector companies to supplement its services, and all calls were handled by HMRC.
	The number of calls handled by private sector suppliers, which were not recorded, is not available in the format requested.
	Calls handled by private sector companies were generic and did not require access to HMRC Computer systems or individual customer records.
	
		
			  ( 1) Calls handled 
			  2003  
			 January 239 
			 February 310 
			 March 618 
			 April 660 
			 May 728 
			 June 32 
			 July 0 
			 August 0 
			 September 0 
			 October 0 
			 November 0 
			 December 0 
			  2004  
			 January 0 
			 February 57 
			 March 181 
			 April 133 
			 May 138 
			 June 138 
			 July 124 
			 August 178 
			 September 294 
			 October 167 
			 (1) volumes shown in thousands, rounded to the nearest thousand

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: HIV Infection

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to assist  (a) Uganda and  (b) Senegal in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Gareth Thomas: DFID acknowledge the seriousness of the epidemic in Uganda and are working closely with the Government of Uganda, other donors and civil society organisations to support the Government's own national strategic plan for universal access to treatment, care and prevention. DFID are providing 9 million over three years to enhance national institutional capacity to achieve universal access. Our support is especially helping address potential gaps in the Government's prevention strategy.
	The UK is the second largest donor of AIDS-related assistance in developing countries, spending 385 million in 2005-06. This includes supporting multilateral institutions like the World Bank, the UN agencies and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria whose combined operations span all developing countries.
	DFID have committed 359 million to the Global Fund for 2002-08, including 100 million in 2006 and the same for 2007. The fund is supporting substantial HIV and AIDS programmes in both Senegal and Uganda, with commitments of $41 million and $166 million respectively.

Bangladesh: Poverty

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department in conjunction with the Asian Development Bank to alleviate poverty in Bangladesh.

Shahid Malik: DFID works closely with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Bangladesh as part of a Joint Strategy partnership (which also includes the World Bank and Japan). Together, these four donors account for 80 per cent. of all development assistance to Bangladesh.
	The Joint Strategy partnership group was formed in 2005 as a response the Government of Bangladesh's Poverty Reduction Strategy. The Joint Strategy approach has allowed more effective allocation of lead sector responsibilities among donors, and it is hoped that it will eventually lead to the development of a common donor strategy for Bangladesh.
	DFID works directly with the ADB through the following programmes:
	 Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP) II:
	DFID is providing 100 million through a pooled funded arrangement managed by the ADB, to provide 17 million primary aged children in over 78,000 schools with quality primary education.
	 Urban Primary Health Care Project:
	DFID is contributing 15 million over six years to provide improved primary health care services in urban areas. The project, co-funded by the ADB, has a particular focus on providing health care services to poor women and girls.
	 Rural Infrastructure Improvement Project II (RIIP II): 
	DFID is providing 35 million over five years to RIIP II, which is also funded by ADB and the German Government, to reduce physical, social and economic exclusion among 28 million people in 23 of Bangladesh's poorest districts. This recently approved project will develop rural infrastructure and improve access to services and markets, provide opportunities for employment and strengthen the capacity of local government to deliver infrastructure services to the poor.

Departments: Pay

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many bonuses were awarded to senior civil servants working at his Department and its agencies in each year between 1997 and 2006; and what the total cost of those bonuses was.

Shahid Malik: From 2002, individual departments and agencies have been responsible for their own reward arrangements for senior civil servants (including the award of non-pensionable performance bonuses) within a framework set by the Cabinet Office.
	The following table gives the number of bonuses awarded to DFID's senior civil servants since 2002, together with the total costs for each of those years. All bonus payments are non-pensionable. No bonus payments were made by DFID to members of the senior civil service prior to 2002.
	
		
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Number of awards 27 51 57 68 65 
			 Total cost () 85,051 153,170 189,500 266,750 377,100 
			 % of SCS paybill (1) 2.3 3.8 4.0 5.0 6.5 
			 (1 )The percentage of the senior civil service (SCS) paybill allocated to performance related bonuses has increased year-on-year. This is in line with the Government's stated objective of building the bonus pot annually so that it reaches 10 per cent. of the SCS paybill by 2008.

Departments: Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many non-pensionable bonuses were awarded to members of staff in his Department in the last three years; and at what total cost.

Shahid Malik: The following two tables give the number of non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID staff over the last three years, together with the total costs for each of those years.
	
		
			  Non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID senior civil servants (SCS) 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 1) 
			 Number of awards 68 65 n/a 
			 Total cost () 266,750 377,100 n/a 
			 Percentage of SCS paybill(2) 5.0 6.5  
			 n/a = not applicable. (1) Non-pensionable bonuses for the SCS in relation to the 2006-07 reporting year are not payable until November 2007. (2) The percentage of the SCS paybill allocated to performance related bonuses is increasing year on year. This is in line with the Government's stated objective of building the bonus pot annually so that it reaches 10 per cent. of the SCS paybill by 2008. 
		
	
	
		
			  Non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID staff in grades below the SCS 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Number of awards 508 1,106 1,020 
			 Total cost () 230,600 515,865 558,233 
			 Percentage of paybill for grades below the SCS(1) 0.4 0.8 0.9 
			 (1) For DFID staff below the SCS, the amount of money allocated for all forms of bonus payment is limited to a maximum of 1.2 per cent. of the paybill costs.

Departments: Performance Appraisal

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report in 2006-07.

Shahid Malik: For the senior civil service (SCS), Departments and agencies are responsible for their own performance management arrangements within a framework set by the Cabinet Office. The 2006-07 guidance for the SCS was based on a relative assessment of how individuals compared to their peers, with between 5 and 10 per cent. of SCS staff being placed into the lowest of three performance groupings.
	The performance management arrangements for staff in grades below the SCS have been delegated to individual Departments. DFID has in place a system similar to that of the SCS, whereby staff are classified as falling into one of three performance categories - with the lowest being defined as those most in need of development. For staff below the SCS, the distribution of performance markings is not determined by a quota allocation.
	Neither system explicitly identifies staff as unacceptable performers. Both are based on the principle of bringing about performance improvements through continual dialogue and coaching; and both are designed to identify those in whom DFID should invest more resources in terms of training and personal development.
	We do have parallel systems in place to identify unacceptable performers whose standard of work falls well below that expected of their grade. In such cases, line managers are charged with setting in place a formal performance improvement plan, to be agreed with the job holder. Failure to meet the required standards within a specified period of time may result in sanctions being applied, including dismissal. Information on the number of staff being monitored in this way is not recorded centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Public Transport

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate his Department has made of the number of its staff using public transport to travel to work.

Shahid Malik: DFID last carried out a survey of staff two years ago in order to produce Green Travel Plans for our two UK offices. Our London office has no car parking for staff, so with the exception of 13 per cent. staff who cycled all or part of the journey, or 3 per cent. who walked, the remainder all used public transport. Our smaller East Kilbride office is somewhat more difficult to reach via public transport but around 20 per cent. use either trains or buses. The majority of the remainder use cars, but at least a third of these use car sharing arrangements. Overall, around 60 per cent. of our staff use public transport.

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department have taken  (a) five or more,  (b) four,  (c) three and  (d) two periods of sick leave of less than five days in the last 12 months.

Shahid Malik: The following table sets out how many DFID staff have taken  (a) five or more,  (b) four,  (c) three and  (d) two periods of sick leave of less than five days in the last 12 months.
	
		
			  Periods of sick leave of less than 5 days  Number of staff in the last 12 months 
			 5 or more 83 
			 4 50 
			 3 107 
			 2 194

HIV Infection: Medical Treatments

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support the Government are giving to UNICEF's efforts for a greater supply of the necessary medication to prevent the transmission from mother to baby of HIV/AIDS; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has committed to spend at least 150 million over the three years from 2005-08 on programmes to meet the needs of children affected by AIDS. When the commitment was made in 2004 it was expected that at least 44 million of this would be delivered through UNICEF. The methodology to track this expenditure is under review.
	In 2006 the UK was the second largest donor to UNICEF, providing 105 million. This included 19 million of core financial support and 5 million to increase the coverage, quality and coordination of the global response for children affected by HIV and AIDS. Both of these elements contribute directly to supporting UNICEF's strategic goals, which include reducing the number of paediatric HIV infections by at least 40 per cent. and ensuring that at least 80 per cent. of HIV positive pregnant women receive antiretroviral therapy to prevent mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV.
	DFID is also intensifying action on PMTCT at country level with a range of partners, including UNICEF. For example in Zimbabwe DFID has initiated a 25 million project specifically to strengthen actions to prevent, diagnose and treat HIV infections in mothers and babies. In Zambia, we support UNICEF's expansion of PMTCT services.

South America: Poverty

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department are undertaking to alleviate poverty in  (a) Uruguay,  (b) Argentina,  (c) Brazil and  (d) Peru.

Shahid Malik: DFID's support to these four countries is provided through international (multi-lateral) organisationsmainly the European Union, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. In 2004, DFID's contributions through these channels were 1 million to Uruguay; 1 million to Argentina; 6 million to Brazil; and 2 million to Peru. To help these organisations focus on reducing poverty, DFID has a Latin-America regional programme, with offices in Brazil, Bolivia (for the Andes) and Nicaragua (for central America). These offices work with the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank on two areas: (i) helping poor people benefit from markets, and (ii) making public sectors and political systems more transparent and accountable. In addition, we work on global issues that affect the region such as HIV and AIDS, and trade. Social exclusion is a cross-cutting theme throughout all facets of our work. DFID is also supporting a number of UK NGOs working in Latin America under partnership programme agreements and the Civil Society Challenge Fund.
	DFID's assistance to Latin America from 2004-07 is set out in the regional assistance plan, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Sudan: Overseas Aid

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UN Joint Logistics Centre in providing non food items for humanitarian programmes run by non-governmental organisations in Darfur; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Overall, the UN Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC) runs an effective mechanism for the supply and distribution of non-food items (NFIs) for Darfur in partnership with CARE and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Between January and May this year, 307,178 households were provided with NFIs, roughly 1.8 million people.
	Given the scale of need in Darfur and like all other sectors, the supply of NFIs requires regular prioritisation to ensure the available resources are directed to the most pressing needs. UNJLC, CARE and other UN and NGO partners regularly meet to define the NFI priorities for Darfur, a process that is working well in very challenging circumstances. A second constraint is that of access for distributing agencies. Pervasive insecurity, including increasing attacks against humanitarian agencies, has limited the ability to deliver NFIs and other aid to populations in need.
	It is only through the admirable work of the UN and NGOs that aid is being delivered to the 4 million people in need in Darfur. I utterly condemn the continuing violence targeting civilians and humanitarian workers in Darfur and the UK has called on all sides to cease the violence immediately; renew the ceasefire, reinvigorate the political process and support the rapid deployment of the AU/UN peacekeeping force for Darfur.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Further Education

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to encourage those in employment to engage in further educational study.

David Lammy: It is essential that individuals in employment are encouraged to study further. The Leitch Review of Skills published in 2006 reinforced this and I welcome Lord Leitch's assessment that the need to dramatically raise awareness and aspirations on skills and to change people's attitudes is key to this.
	On 9 July, we will launch a long-term, national marketing campaign which will play an important and powerful role in bringing about the change in culture that we need.
	In order to improve their skills and employability and progress their careers, people also need to be informed of the choices they have. The Leitch Report made some specific recommendations on how to improve careers advice and empower the learner; we will respond to these in the forthcoming Leitch Implementation Plan.
	Our policies also encourage and support those in employment to engage in further upskilling in various ways. Train to Gain is central to delivering a truly demand-led system and is the key vehicle for delivering the expansion in participation and achievement for individuals already in the work force. As at April 2007, a total of 154,290 learners had commenced learning through Train to Gain and over 40,000 employers had been engaged. The level 2 entitlement provides free tuition for all adults studying for their first full level 2 qualification. The Skills for Life programme provides opportunities for adult learners to acquire the underpinning skills they need for further learning and sustainable employment and many adults have benefited from free provision and achieved their first ever qualification in literacy, language or numeracy. Adults under the age of 25 who have missed out on education and training opportunities will be able to get free tuition through further education colleges and providers to obtain a first, full level 3 qualification, equivalent to 2 A-levels, from this August.

Higher Education

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students  (a) enrolled for and  (b) were awarded higher national certificates in each of the last 10 years.

Bill Rammell: The information is provided in the following tables. The length of time taken to complete a higher national certificate (HNC) can vary. Typically, the qualification lasts one year if studied full-time or two years if studied part-time. In addition, students completing an HNC can proceed directly to further study such as a higher national diploma (HND). For these reasons, it is not possible to calculate completion rates simply by comparing entrants with qualifiers.
	
		
			  Number of entrants to higher national certificate (HNC) courses( 1) , UK higher education Institutions( 2) ,  academic years 1996/97 to 2005/06 
			  Academic year  Entrants 
			 1996/97 8,735 
			 1997/98 8,800 
			 1998/99 8,830 
			 1999/2000 8,650 
			 2000/01 10,470 
			 2001/02 12,280 
			 2002/03 10,335 
			 2003/04 9,280 
			 2004/05 8,560 
			 2005/06 8,070 
			 (1) Covers students on both full-time and part-time courses. (2) Excludes the Open university.  Note: Entrant figures are on a snapshot basis as of 1 December for comparability. All figures are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of qualifiers from higher national certificate (HNC) courses( 1) , UK higher education Institutions( 2) ,  academic years 1996/97 to 2005/06 
			  Academic year  Qualifiers 
			 1996/97 5,110 
			 1997/98 4,625 
			 1998/99 4,460 
			 1999/2000 4,750 
			 2000/01(3) 5,315 
			 2001/02 5,985 
			 2002/03 5,760 
			 2003/04 5,950 
			 2004/05 5,625 
			 2005/06 5,100 
			 (1) Covers students on both full-time and part-time courses. (2) Excludes the Open university. (3) From 2000-01, students qualifying from a dormant mode of study are included in the figures; they are excluded in all previous years. In 2000-01, there were 195 students who qualified with a HNC from a dormant mode of study.  Note: Entrant figures are on a snapshot basis as of 1 December for comparability. All figures are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Higher Education Funding Council for England: Qualifications

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what proportion of the Higher Education Funding Council for England's annual budget was spent on Higher National Diplomas in each year since the introduction of that qualification; and how much of that budget was spent on  (a) course design,  (b) teaching and  (c) other activities;
	(2)  what the total cost to the public purse was of  (a) foundation degrees,  (b) Higher National Diplomas and  (c) Higher National Certificates in each year since their introduction.

Bill Rammell: It is not possible to answer these questions in precisely the way they have been asked on the basis of the data which is available centrally. The following table sets out for each of the last five years the amount of the Higher Education Funding Council's budget notionally allocated to support  (a) Foundation Degrees  (b) Higher National Diplomas and  (c) Higher National Certificates in cash terms and calculates  (b) as a proportion of the Council's overall budget.
	
		
			  Notional grant 
			million  
			   Foundation degrees  HNDs  HNCs  HND budget as percentage of total HEFCE budget 
			 2001-02 9 155 56 3.2 
			 2002-03 30 133 46 2.6 
			 2003-04 54 115 45 2.1 
			 2004-05 98 105 48 1.7 
			 2005-06 140 88 46 1.4

Higher Education: Class Sizes

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the student to lecturer ratio is in  (a) Russell Group,  (b) pre-1992 and  (c) post-1992 universities, broken down by subject.

Bill Rammell: The Department does not produce detailed breakdowns of student to staff ratios.

Higher Education: Disabled

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many and what percentage of pupils in receipt of disabled students' allowance from  (a) all schools,  (b) maintained schools,  (c) low-participation neighbourhoods and  (d) socio-economic classes 4 to 7 who (i) applied and (ii) were accepted to (A) Oxbridge, (B) Russell Group universities and (C) other universities in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: The information is not collected centrally.

Higher Education: Teaching Methods

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what average number of contact hours students received per week in  (a) Russell Group,  (b) pre-1992 and  (c) post-1992 universities with (i) fewer than five, (ii) fewer than 10, (iii) fewer than 15, (iv) fewer than 30 and (v) 30 or more students per academic year in the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by subject.

Bill Rammell: The information requested is not collected centrally. Scheduled contact time is a matter for individual institutions.

Research: Stem Cells

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much funding for research into the development of treatment using  (a) embryonic stem cells and  (b) stem cells from umbilical cords and other adult stem cells his Department has allocated in each of the last five years; and what mechanism is used to determine how funds are apportioned between the two treatments.

John Denham: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is the main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research.
	The MRC allocates funding in response-mode following competitive peer review on the basis of scientific quality and potential impact. The MRC supports research on embryonic and adult (including fetal) stem cells, which ranges from fundamental cell biology through to early phase clinical trials. The 'development of treatment' is not a term usually associated with pre-clinical trial scientific research; however, based on a broad interpretation, the majority of MRC's research could be categorised as such.
	Funding for stem cell research by the MRC and the Department of Trade and Industry's Technology Programme for the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage of spend on stem cell research (MRC only): 
			  Financial year  MRC ( million)  DTI, Technology Programme ( million  Adult (including fetal)( 1)  Embryonic 
			 2002/03 4.5 0.00 n/a n/a 
			 2003/04 14.5 0.00 n/a n/a 
			 2004/05 14.2 0.00 50 50 
			 2005/06 17.4 0.80 45 55 
			 2006/07 (2) 1.30   
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Fetal includes umbilical stem cells but information is not held in such a way as to identify spend separately. (2) Not yet available.

Students: Part-Time Employment

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number and percentage of undergraduate students who were in part-time work in the  (a) first year,  (b) second year,  (c) third year and  (d) fourth year of their degrees, broken down by (i) socioeconomic group and (ii) number of hours worked per week.

Bill Rammell: The Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2004/05, published on 30 March 2006, is a comprehensive study on students' income, expenditure, borrowing and debt. The survey showed that full-time undergraduate students were less likely to undertake paid work in the final year of their course. Further details are available in table 1.
	The survey also shows that while a smaller proportion of students tend to work in their final year, those who do tend to work slightly more hours per week (table 2).
	
		
			  Table 1: the proportion of students who undertook paid work at some time during the academic year 
			  Year of study  Socio-economic group  Proportion that were part-time work (percentage) 
			 First year Managerial/professional 55 
			  Intermediate 64 
			  Routine/manual 61 
			  All socio-economic groups 58 
			
			 Second/intermediate years Managerial/professional 60 
			  Intermediate 58 
			  Routine/manual 64 
			  All socio-economic groups 60 
			
			 Final year/one-year course only Managerial/professional 49 
			  Intermediate 47 
			  Routine/manual 58 
			  All socio-economic groups 50 
			
			 All years Managerial/professional 55 
			  Intermediate 55 
			  Routine/manual 61 
			  All socio-economic groups 56 
			  Source: Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2004/05 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: the mean number of hours worked each week by full-time students who undertook paid work at some time during the academic year 
			  Year of study  Mean hours worked per week 
			 First year 13.8 
			 Second/intermediate years 12.3 
			 Final year/one-year course only 14.7 
			   
			 All years 13.6 
			  Source: Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2004/05

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

City Academies: Standards

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what proportion of the average Level 3 qualification and curriculum authority point score for pupils attending state city academies in 2006 was represented by  (a) GCE A levels,  (b) GCE AS levels and  (c) VCE A levels or other Level 3 qualifications;
	(2)  what proportion of the average Level 3 qualification and curriculum authority point score for pupils attending schools other than state city academies in 2006 was represented by  (a) GCE A levels,  (b) GCE AS levels and  (c) VCE A levels or other Level 3 qualifications.

Jim Knight: The qualification composition contributing to Level 3 QCA point scores for students attending academies and for students attending institutions other than academies in 2006 are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Proportion of QCA point scores in the school and college achievement and attainment tables represented by different qualification types, 2005/06 
			  Percentage 
			   GCE A level  GCE AS level( 1)  Other Level 3 qualifications 
			 Academies 61 9 30 
			 Institutions other than Academies(2) 68 11 21 
			 (1 )Points for GCE AS levels are discounted from average point score measures where students have achieved a GCE A Level in the same subject (2) Including Further Education Institutions.

Class Sizes

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the relationship between class size and pupil achievement at  (a) Key Stage 1,  (b) Key Stage 2 and  (c) Key Stage 3.

Jim Knight: There is evidence that smaller classes result in an increase in attainment at Key Stage 1, particularly in literacy and maths in the reception year. However the situation is more complex for other age groups. For Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 there is no clear evidence that points towards a similar link between smaller classes and pupils' achievement.

Classroom Assistants: Mathematics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 783W, on classroom assistants: mathematics, how many placements were provided  (a) overall and  (b) in mathematics in each financial year since its establishment.

Jim Knight: The following table details the total placements, and maths placements, for the Student Associate scheme in each academic year since it began. The 2006/07 and 2007/08 figures are estimates. For 2006/07 we will not know the final figures until Sept 2007.
	
		
			  Academic year  Total placements  Maths placements 
			 2003/04 4,734 417 
			 2004/05 6,588 841 
			 2005/06 8,640 1,121 
			 2006/07 (1)7,925 (1)1,379 
			 2007/08 8,338 (1)1,483 
			 (1 )Estimate

Departments: Delivery Unit

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1702W, on Departments: delivery unit, what the  (a) start date,  (b) end date and  (c) terms of reference are for the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit's joint work with his Department on Academies.

Jim Knight: The Prime Minister's Delivery Unit works with my Department on an on-going basis to monitor progress towards the Government's commitment to establish 400 Academies.

Education: Disadvantaged

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much is being spent on  (a) personalised learning, with special weighting for deprived areas, for low achievers and  (b) one to one tuition in mathematics and English for low achievers; how much has been spent in Leyton and Wanstead; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: It is a matter for each local authorityin consultation with their schools forumsto determine the level of funding between different providers, based on an assessment of local circumstances.

Education: Expenditure

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was allocated for capital expenditure on education in Stockton-on-Tees in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Capital allocations for education in Stockton-on-Tees in each year since 1997 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			million 
			 1997-98 1.0 
			 1998-99 2.4 
			 1999-2000 7.1 
			 2000-01 8.2 
			 2001-02 14.6 
			 2002-03 8.7 
			 2003-04 11.9 
			 2004-05 11.8 
			 2005-06 7.7 
			 2006-07 10.9 
			 2007-08 7.7 
		
	
	The changes in capital funding from year to year, apart from a general rise across the period, result from periodic allocations of ring-fenced capital funding which are additional to the annual formulaic funding. In the current spending review period, from 2005-06 to 2007-08, additional targeted capital funding (TCP) of 0.612 million was allocated in 2005-06, and 3.343 million TCP in 2006-07. The large allocation of 14.6 million in 2001-02 includes a PFI allocation of 6.4 million.

GCE A Level

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of pupils from  (a) independent,  (b) maintained and  (c) grammar schools received a grade A in three or more of mathematics, further mathematics, physics, chemistry, French, German and Spanish A-levels in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of pupils from  (a) independent,  (b) maintained and  (c) grammar schools received a grade A in one or more of mathematics, further mathematics, physics, chemistry, French, German and Spanish A-levels in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils in maintained mainstream schools who gained five good GCSEs in 2006 gained  (a) five,  (b) four and  (c) three C grades.

Jim Knight: The answer to this request is given in the table:
	
		
			  Number of pupils in maintained mainstream Schools who got the five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C and obtained five, four or three C grades at GCSE( 1) : 
			   5 or more GCSEs at grade C  4 or more GCSEs at grade C  3 or more GCSEs at grade C 
			  Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 with 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C  Number  As a percentage of those with 5 + A*-C  Number  As a percentage of those with 5 + A*-C  Number  As a percentage of those with 5 + A*-C 
			 263,812 75,920 28.8 109,995 41.7 142,226 53.9 
			 (1 )At full GCSE only, not including equivalents.  Source:  School Achievement and Attainment Tables

Intimidation: Statistics

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to encourage schools to  (a) record all incidents of bullying and  (b) report the statistics to their local authority;
	(2)  what progress is being made on the recommendation of Third Report of Session 2006-07 of the Education and Skills Committee, on Bullying, HC 85, on developing a system for collecting and recording incidents of bullying in schools;
	(3)  if his Department will commission a study of the long-term effects of bullying on those subject to it in schools;
	(4)  what indicators his Department plans to use to measure progress in tackling prejudice-driven bullying related to special educational needs and disabilities;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the non statutory requirement upon schools to report incidents of bullying on the quality of the collected results.

Jim Knight: As we make clear in the Government response to the Committee's Third Report of Session 2006-07, my Department recommends as best practice that schools record all incidents of bullying and report these statistics to their local authority (LA). We will be strengthening this message in our revised overarching anti-bullying guidance and will ensure it is clear in the more specialist guidance we are preparing on homophobic and other forms of prejudice-driven bullying.
	However, we do not believe that a statutory requirement on schools to record incidents of bullying would be effective. It would present significant logistical and bureaucratic difficulties for schools, and there would be substantial issues around consistency of definition, collection, and interpretation which would be expensive, cumbersome and time-consuming to overcome. We think it is better to leave this matter to the good judgment and common sense of teachers, who will have detailed guidance on how best to go about this.
	The forthcoming Tellus 2 survey should give us more comprehensive data on young people's experiences of bullying in schools. It will be an annual survey, starting this year, covering all LAs. Data will be considered by Ofsted in their annual performance assessment of each LA's services, and could lead to Ofsted looking more closely at anti-bullying practices in a particular authority's joint area review (JAR). We are currently looking at how we might use data derived from the survey to inform future policy development.
	The Department's contract with the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) includes a specific research element, which is fulfilled by a senior researcher at Goldsmiths College and his team. In our response to the Education and Skills Select Committee's report on bullying, we made clear that the ABA was planning a substantial piece of research into reactive anti-bullying strategies, and we believed this was the best way forward. Any other research projects will be determined in light of our ongoing policy priorities.
	The Department does not monitor the progress of individual schools in addressing bullying at a local, regional or national level or, as my earlier answers make clear, collect statistics in this area. However our partners in the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) and National Strategies maintain close links with individual schools and authorities through their regional networks. We have flagged up that there is a need to tackle the bullying of children with SEN and disabilities in our guidance. The ABA and National Strategies work with schools to ensure effective measures are in place to prevent and tackle the bullying of these children. We have also asked the National Strategies to identify schools with weak and ineffective anti-bullying strategies and to provide challenge and support to these schools as appropriate.
	Following the Government's commitment to issue specific guidance on prejudice-driven bullying in the Schools White Paper 'Higher Standards, Better Schools for All', my Department produced well-received guidance in 2006 on tackling racist bullying, Bullying around racism, religion and culture. We will also be launching more specific guidance on how to prevent and tackle homophobic bullying later this year. We recognise there is a need for more specialist guidance to tackle the bullying of pupils with SEN and disabilities Once this is issued we will work with practitioners and with our partners in the field on a programme of dissemination to ensure schools across the country implement the guidance.
	Our guidance to schools on tackling bullying has always been intentionally non-statutory. Schools need to determine an approach which best suits their local needs and circumstances, taking into account their pupil population and identified priorities. Schools are autonomous institutions, and we want them to retain the flexibility to establish a system of managing behaviour which best suits the needs of the local community they serve.

Learning Disability: Intimidation

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps are being taken to prevent bullying among young people with learning difficulties.

Jim Knight: The Department's existing guidance for schools flags up the need to prevent and tackle the bullying of children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. We will be strengthening these messages in our revised anti-bullying guidance which we intend to launch in September under the title 'Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-Bullying Work in Schools'. We have also announced that we will be producing specialist guidance on how to prevent and tackle the bullying of children with SEN and disabilities. We have begun to meet with interested lobby groups and experts and hope to start work on this guidance very soon, with a view to launching it early next year. We intend to work closely with the Special Educational Consortium and other charities and groups with an interest in this area, drawing on current research. Once completed, this specialist guidance will form part of 'Safe to Learn'.

Local Education Authorities: Documents

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which local education authorities lost records in the fire at the Iron Mountain facility fire at Bromley-by-Bow on 12 July 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold this information, and so we do not know which local education authorities lost records in this fire.

Primary Education: Teaching Methods

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1158W, on primary education: teaching methods, what the cost per pupil is of  (a) the Every Child a Reader and  (b) the Every Child Counts programme;
	(2)  if he will break down the average per capita cost of the Every Child a Reader programme in to  (a) pay for specialist trained teachers,  (b) materials for pupils,  (c) central administration costs for the scheme,  (d) marketing and  (e) other costs;
	(3)  how many special teachers have been trained for the  (a) Every Child a Reader and  (b) Every Child Counts programme.

Jim Knight: The Every Child A Reader (ECAR) programme costs on average 2,300 per pupil. This unit cost breaks down as follows:
	
		
			   
			  Costs at school level over four years 
			  Start up costs
			  Essential:
			 Training Course 2,500   
			 Core texts 30   
			  May be needed:
			 Children's books 200   
			 Magnetic whiteboard and letters 100   
			 Maximum start up costs  2,830  
			 Running costs  variable  
			 0.5 teacher time for teaching = 20,000 per year over four years 80,000 80,000  
			 Total cost to the school over 4 years   82,830 
			 8-10 children served per 0.5 teacher time per year, average 9 children per year x 4 yrs = 36 children   Divided by 36 
			 Cost to the school per child   2,300 
			  Source:  The long term costs of literacy difficulties, KPMG Foundation December 2006 
		
	
	61 already trained specialist teachers have been re-activated and an additional 215 specialist teachers have been trained to work with children as part of the ECAR programme. ECAR is largely delivered in maintained mainstream schools although a small number of specialist teachers are delivering ECAR in special schools.
	Funding of 20 million for implementing the Making Good Progress pilot in the first academic year, 2007-08, was announced on June 6 along with the details of participating pilot schools. There will be further funding for implementation in the second academic year which will be settled through the comprehensive spending review. The cost per pupil in 2007-08 will be approximately 300 and we anticipate that it will be similar in 2008-09. There will be no specific training programme for teachers in relation to the Making Good Progress pilot.
	We will announce detailed allocations for Every Child Counts in due course. At this stage we do not know what the cost per pupil will be. It is likely that there will be specific training for teachers in the numeracy equivalent to Every Child A Reader when it is rolled out, the details of which (including the number of teachers to be trained) are yet to be decided.

Pupils: Attendance

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the relationship between pupil achievement and pupil attendance at  (a) Key Stage 1,  (b) Key Stage 2 and  (c) Key Stage 3.

Jim Knight: The research report An Analysis of Pupil Attendance Data in Excellence in Cities (EiC) Areas and non-EiC EAZs published in 2005 found significant associations between school attendance and performance at Key Stages 3 and 4. Data for 1999-2000 to 2000-03 were analysed for a sample of 454 schools; the profile of the sample schools was less advantaged than that of secondary schools nationally. The research also found a varying impact of high absence rates upon different groups of pupils, particularly in the case of pupil gender, and that the relationship was less significant when background characteristics of the schools were taken into account.

Pupils: Guardianship

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, what mechanisms are in place to regulate or assess the quality of commercial guardianship services provided by UK organisations to overseas pupils at UK schools; how often such mechanisms are reviewed; and when the last such occasion was.

Jim Knight: Most overseas pupils are educated in independent schools. Guardianship arrangements set up by independent schools, and accommodation provided by independent boarding schools, including accommodation provided via host families, must meet national minimum standards. These cover suitability to work with children and the quality of boarding provision. These standards require all adult host family members and guardians to be checked through the Criminal Records Bureau, and are monitored through Ofsted inspection. Some independent schools use commercial guardianship services and in this case must satisfy themselves about the quality of service. However pupils placed under commercial arrangements are subject to the same level of monitoring through inspection against the national minimum standards.
	It is also a legal requirement for a private foster carer to notify their local authority about private fostering arrangements. New measures in the Children Act 2004 and the Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005, which came into effect in July 2005, strengthened the private fostering Notification scheme, and provided additional safeguards for privately fostered children. We have made it clear that if the Notification scheme does not work well, we will introduce a Registration scheme for private foster carers.

Pupils: Intimidation

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he is taking to tackle bullying in schools.

Jim Knight: The Government believe that all bullying is wrong and should never be tolerated in schools, and all our guidance makes this clear.
	This year the Department will provide around 1.7 million for anti-bullying programmes, which covers the costs of grants to external organisations, as well as anti-bullying resources, the publication of guidance and support for local authorities and schools, and directly funded external events.
	We provide comprehensive advice for schools setting out a range of proven strategies for tackling bullying. We are currently revising our over-arching anti-bullying advice to schools, which we propose to issue on-line in September under the title 'Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-Bullying Work in Schools'. This will include specific guidance on prejudice-driven bullying, with links to the guidance on racist bullying we first issued last year, and homophobic bullying guidance specifically prepared for us by Stonewall and Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH). There will also be specific guidance on how to prevent and tackle cyberbullying. To complete this suite of guidance, we will also prepare specific advice on how to tackle the bullying of children with special educational needs and disabilities.
	The Education and Skills Select Committee recently examined bullying in schools, and their report welcomed key aspects of the Government's programme of work, including our main guidance and our guidance on prejudice-driven bullying. The Government's response was issued very recently.
	We work with and fund a number of partners, including the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) who arrange the annual anti-bullying week, and provide a range of advice and support to local authorities; ParentLine Plus, who run a helpline for parents whose children are being bullied; and ChildLine in Partnership with Schools (CHIPS) who run peer mentoring schemes for the Department; and we also fund awards for anti-bullying work as part of the Princess Diana Memorial Awards scheme. We issue the anti-bullying charter to schools and have placed a duty on head teachers to determine measures to prevent all forms of bullying as part of their overall behaviour policy. More recently, we convened a taskforce to look at all aspects of cyber-bullying, made up of internet service providers, mobile phone companies, education professionals and those working in the youth justice system.
	We are now shifting the focus of our anti-bullying work from campaigning to embedding effective practice in schools. To do this we are working with the national strategies to identify schools with weak and ineffective anti-bullying policies and provide targeted support to those schools; and with BeatBullying, a respected anti-bullying charity, to run a project on tackling inter-faith bullying, including Islamaphobia.

Pupils: Intimidation

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding has been allocated to the North East of England to tackle bullying in schools in the last 12 months for which figures are available; what progress has been made in reducing bullying; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Ring-fenced funding for anti-bullying campaigns is not made available on either a local authority or school by school basis. Rather it is a matter for schools and local authorities to decide how much of their budget they devote to this important work.
	The Government believe that all bullying is wrong and should never be tolerated in schools, and all our guidance makes this clear. This year the Department will provide around 1.7 million for anti-bullying programmes, which covers the costs of grants to external organisations, as well as anti-bullying resources, the publication of guidance and support for local authorities and schools, and directly funded external events.
	We provide comprehensive advice for schools setting out a range of proven strategies for tackling bullying. We are currently revising our over-arching anti-bullying advice to schools, which we propose to issue on-line in September under the title 'Safe to Learn: Embedding Anti-Bullying Work in Schools'. This will include specific guidance on prejudice-driven bullying, with links to the guidance on racist bullying we first issued last year, and homophobic bullying guidance prepared for us by Stonewall and Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH). There will also be specific guidance on how to prevent and tackle cyberbullying. To complete this suite of guidance, we will also prepare specific advice on how to tackle the bullying of children with special educational needs and disabilities.
	The Education and Skills Select Committee recently examined bullying in schools, and their report welcomed key aspects of the Government's programme of work, including our main guidance and our guidance on prejudice-driven bullying. The Government's response was issued very recently.
	We work with and fund a number of partners, including the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) who arrange the annual anti-bullying week, and provide a range of advice and support to local authorities; ParentLine Plus, who run a helpline for parents whose children are being bullied; and ChildLine in Partnership with Schools (CHIPS) who run peer mentoring schemes for the Department; and we also fund awards for anti-bullying work as part of the Princess Diana Memorial Awards scheme. We have issued the Anti-Bullying Charter to schools and have placed a duty on head teachers to determine measures to prevent all forms of bullying as part of their overall behaviour policy. More recently, we convened a Taskforce to look at all aspects of cyberbullying, made up of internet service providers, mobile phone companies, education professionals and those working in the youth justice system.
	We are now shifting the focus of our anti-bullying work from campaigning to embedding effective practice in schools. To do this we are working with the National Strategies to identify schools with weak and ineffective anti-bullying policies and provide targeted support to those schools; and with BeatBullying, to run a project on tackling inter-faith bullying, including Islamaphobia.

Pupils: Intimidation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2007,  Official Report, column 797W, on pupils: intimidation, 
	(1)  on what date his Department's work to tackle cyber-bullying began;
	(2)  how many staff worked on the anti-bullying strand of this programme in each financial year given, broken down by payband;
	(3)  whether reduced funding for anti-bullying work in 2005-06 was a result of decisions taken in the 2004 Spending Review process;
	(4)  how much funding his Department has given to each organisation listed since it started working with them;
	(5)  how many schools' anti-bullying policies have been classified as weak and ineffective; and how many such schools have received targeted support.

Jim Knight: Further to research published by Goldsmiths University on behalf of the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), the Department first published interim guidelines on cyberbullying in July 2006. Around the same time, we formed the Department's Cyberbullying Taskforce, consisting of industry leaders, particularly Internet Service Providers and mobile phone operators, as well as education practitioners, the professional associations and law enforcement agencies (such as the Youth Justice Board) to develop a range of initiatives to combat cyberbullying in schools, and to ensure parents are provided with the information they need to keep their children safe online.
	The team within the Department with responsibility for anti-bullying had, in 2003/04, the earliest year for which authoritative figures are available, one Grade 7, two Higher Executive Officers (HEOs), three Executive Officers (EOs) and one Administrative Officer (AO). Some of these officers also had other duties besides anti-bullying work. By 2005/06 the team consisted of one Grade 7, one Senior Executive Officer (SEO), one HEO and 60 per cent. of one EO, all working on anti-bullying work. By the following year this had changed to one Grade 7, two HEOs and 60 per cent. of one EO.
	This decrease in funding was not a result of decisions made in the 2004 Comprehensive Spending Review. The increased funding in 2004-2005 can be accounted for by the launch of the Department's Make the Difference nationwide conference series on bullying, a high-profile series of events attended by over 5,000 heads and school staff.
	Our records show funding as represented on the following table:
	
		
			   2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06  2006/07 
			 Childline 75,000 258,000 166,800 200,000 200,000 
			 Parentline Plus 188,928 285,324 193,000 200,470 200,000 
			 Anti-Bullying Alliance   480,064 600,628 632,943 
			 Diana Awards   50,000 50,000 50,000 
			 Beatbullying 80,000 
			 Stonewall/EACH 45,000 
			 Childnet International 35,200 
		
	
	All figures are exclusive of VAT.
	The programme of work to identify schools with weak and ineffective anti-bullying policies is carried out for the Department by the National Strategies Behaviour and Attendance team and they hold the relevant data. In order to maximise the participation of Local Authorities (LAs) and schools on this programme, the National Strategies have given an undertaking that they will not pass this information on to the Department. Bullying can often be covert and difficult to identify so we think it is important to ensure the problem is not driven underground by naming and shaming schools which are deemed to have weak and ineffective anti-bullying policies.
	The National Strategies use a number of monitoring prompts to assess whether a school needs additional support with its anti-bullying work. One such prompt relates to the use of the Department's Anti-Bullying Charter for Schools. According to recent figures from the National Strategies nearly 75 per cent. of secondary and over 50 per cent. of primary schools use the principles of the Charter to draw up effective anti-bullying policies.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent per pupil in Warrington in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: holding answer 28 June 2007
	The revenue funding figures per pupil in Warrington in each year since 1997 are provided in the following table:
	
		
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-4  2004-5  2005-06 
			 Warrington (1) 2,310 2,510 2,700 2,960 3,200 3,450 3,550 3,910 
			 (1) Figures are not available.  Notes: 1. The combined LA and school based expenditure includes all expenditure on the education of children in LA maintained establishments and pupils educated by the LA other than in maintained establishments. This includes both school based expenditure and all elements of central LA expenditure except youth and community and capital expenditure from revenue (CERA). A sector breakdown for combined LA and school based expenditure is not available from 2002-03 and consequently this table shows the total LA recurrent expenditure (except youth and community) per pupil by LA since 1995-96. 2. 1999-00 saw a change in data source when the data collection moved from the R01 form collected by the ODPM to the section 52 outturn forms collected by the DFES. 2002-03 saw a further break in the time series following the introduction of consistent financial reporting (CFR) and the associated restructuring of the outturn tables. The change in sources is shown by the dotted line. 3. Pupil figures include all pre-primary pupils, including those under fives funded by the LA and being educated in private settings, pupils educated in maintained mainstream schools and other LA maintained pupils. The pupil data for pupils attending maintained mainstream schools and other LA maintained pupils. The pupil data for pupils attending maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools are taken from the DFES annual schools census. Private voluntary and independent (PVI) under five pupil numbers are taken from the early years census but are only included for 1999-00 onwards. For 1998-99 onwards other LA maintained pupils are included in the pupil count. This includes all pupils attending schools not maintained by the authority for whom the authority is paying full tuition fees, or educated otherwise than in schools and pupil referral units under arrangements made by the authority drawn from Form 8b submitted to the DFES. Also included as other LA maintained pupils are all pupils attending pupil referral units who are not registered at a maintained school drawn from the DFES annual school census. All pupil numbers are adjusted to be on a financial year basis. 4. Local government reorganisation (LGR) took place during the mid to late 1990s. Warrington was part of that reorganisation and figures are not available for 1997-98. 5. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and are subject to change by the LA.

Schools: Capital Investment

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what capital expenditure has been allocated to  (a) secondary schools and  (b) primary schools in each local authority area in England in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Jim Knight: The Department does not maintain central records which analyse, for each capital funding stream, the proportion that relates to  (a) secondary schools and  (b) primary schools in each local authority area. This is because local authority formulaic funding is not ring-fenced. When received by each local authority, it decides locally what proportion of formulaic funding shall be allocated to secondary schools and to primary schools.
	The following table shows total schools capital allocations in each local authority area in England in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Local authority  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Barking and Dagenham 5,852 7,395 10,129 27,252 11,252 
			 Barnet 12,024 18,533 15,102 41,490 13,379 
			 Barnsley 61,039 10,122 7,161 8,407 6,603 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 11,848 7,330 5,551 14,864 6,935 
			 Bedfordshire 18,359 20,621 16,250 18,939 19,429 
			 Bexley 23,749 16,812 12,540 44,948 10,378 
			 Birmingham 102,593 54,287 40,367 45,833 46,130 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 10,062 6,006 9,629 9,999 6,608 
			 Blackpool 17,032 14,992 11,606 8,808 5,041 
			 Bolton 15,167 11,403 9,322 24,214 11,793 
			 Bournemouth 5,066 5,801 5,151 4,725 4,884 
			 Sheffield 58,357 83,165 25,473 22,264 17,297 
			 Bracknell Forest 8,648 4,203 4,313 4,273 4,388 
			 Bradford 20,819 35,284 30,507 19,230 19,380 
			 Brent 14,706 13,827 10,031 20,183 16,413 
			 Brighton and Hove 7.338 13,357 5,487 6,424 6,929 
			 Bristol, City of 73,789 16,368 17,296 14,456 14,699 
			 Bromley 12,490 18,774 18,480 18,715 19,395 
			 Buckinghamshire 27,460 26,443 21,055 20,583 21,365 
			 Bury 7,556 10,833 5,283 18,571 6,854 
			 Calderdale 9,555 15,093 7,437 8,548 8,933 
			 Cambridgeshire 38,682 33,212 24,598 30,757 19,777 
			 Camden 12,152 8,251 11,124 8,014 8,519 
			 Cheshire 34,224 30,488 26,421 25,528 26,351 
			 City of London 159 97 42 66 71 
			 Cornwall 99,602 33,273 18,582 45,532 21,859 
			 Coventry 13,574 15,234 13,453 19,656 12,685 
			 Croydon 14,376 12,610 12,022 16,154 12,777 
			 Cumbria 21,193 23,723 19,008 21,494 22,272 
			 Darlington 44,980 4,199 4,454 24,954 4,074 
			 Derby 53,692 12,763 9,404 21,546 10,164 
			 Derbyshire 74,516 41,778 32,577 42,338 33,219 
			 Devon 122,740 56,137 24,974 79,810 42,674 
			 Doncaster 13,809 55,974 19,179 12,069 12,286 
			 Dorset 22,855 16,276 18,933 64,634 15,462 
			 Dudley 13,415 15,703 12,933 19,732 11,671 
			 Durham 33,035 25,282 25,815 30,500 22,644 
			 Ealing 16,392 77,589 13,936 21,999 9,530 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 20,432 21,642 16,997 26,299 14,475 
			 East Sussex 24,402 23,721 17,703 20,647 17,526 
			 Enfield 69,375 19,537 13,085 30,790 11,535 
			 Essex 63,462 63,202 55,620 51,245 52,028 
			 Gateshead 22,804 6,957 65,954 6,505 6,385 
			 Gloucestershire 28,486 36,782 30,180 68,389 36,469 
			 Greenwich 9,051 16,361 13,074 20,313 14,872 
			 Hackney 11,470 13,356 7,739 10,229 9,473 
			 Halton 6,969 4,879 5,611 10,727 5,217 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 4,987 10,900 4,972 11,879 6,012 
			 Hampshire 70,786 62,874 50,886 59,906 55,967 
			 Haringey 23,672 20,708 20,334 15,380 13,279 
			 Harrow 6,422 6,574 7,055 17,804 6,909 
			 Hartlepool 7,586 3,527 2,989 3,645 3,754 
			 Havering 11,506 11,327 8,299 14,192 9,734 
			 Herefordshire 27,643 8,354 8,712 6,982 7,140 
			 Hertfordshire 43,353 60,759 63,787 69,203 50,055 
			 Hillingdon 14,815 18,885 12,280 31,642 12,855 
			 Hounslow 36,193 9,515 8,210 10,962 10,338 
			 Isle of Wight 10,797 11,424 6,857 14,973 15,556 
			 Isles of Scilly 285 228 153 141 144 
			 Islington 9,417 11,314 7,039 6,152 6,455 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2,918 4,024 4,413 8,987 5,595 
			 Kent 92,848 181,101 90,483 85,225 73,318 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 10,691 10,871 8,365 6,487 8,348 
			 Kingston upon Thames 10,942 14,951 5,992 42,583 8,255 
			 Kirklees 17,253 19,324 14,004 19,523 16,454 
			 Knowsley 7,495 6,688 8,225 10,391 4,750 
			 Lambeth 15,125 22,195 12,750 20,815 16,382 
			 Lancashire 62,607 44,234 38,067 54,715 46,664 
			 Leeds 28,263 63,654 135,406 24,510 24,183 
			 Leicester 12,329 18,259 25,540 12,986 7,434 
			 Leicestershire 27,582 33,834 35,673 40,998 25,063 
			 Lewisham 16,601 15,070 16,571 17,813 10,379 
			 Lincolnshire 28,157 33,779 29,350 42,750 29,536 
			 Liverpool 22,706 18,481 12,826 14,124 15,224 
			 Luton 11,734 10,056 6,448 9,926 6,881 
			 Manchester 56,424 24,853 14,980 21,696 22,141 
			 Merton 7,293 5,836 5,446 15,810 10,762 
			 Middlesbrough 10,039 7,013 6,228 4,199 4,734 
			 Milton Keynes 29,083 39,116 30,831 52,464 42,610 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 16,280 70,368 8,523 12,485 8,336 
			 Newham 50,660 16,028 17,193 11,488 8,414 
			 Norfolk 39,292 108,282 34,492 70,474 39,356 
			 North East Lincolnshire 7,718 7,521 5,967 19,020 7,199 
			 North Lincolnshire 6,113 10,272 5,295 6,244 5,949 
			 North Somerset 17,971 27,122 17,954 8,166 8,472 
			 North Tyneside 11,528 7,134 5,839 18,584 6,964 
			 North Yorkshire 34,086 27,377 22,037 56,547 25,610 
			 Northamptonshire 130,466 36,015 25,035 38,845 25,829 
			 Northumberland 13,730 15,920 11,700 14,269 14,691 
			 Nottingham 10,402 17,579 10,488 13,337 9,464 
			 Nottinghamshire 157,700 31,112 26,170 30,311 30,673 
			 Oldham 14,042 71,191 14,087 11,664 11,539 
			 Oxfordshire 33,394 36,896 36,248 26,789 27,536 
			 Peterborough 13,297 68,781 16,579 26,830 7,447 
			 Plymouth 16,397 56,593 11,728 20,747 11,994 
			 Poole 6,161 4,952 4,202 18,394 6,595 
			 Portsmouth 10,871 7,028 9,043 5,967 6,093 
			 Reading 9,733 5,211 6,564 10,376 4,488 
			 Redbridge 13,084 16,768 20,789 17,159 17,942 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 59,355 5,903 4,910 17,476 5,662 
			 Richmond upon Thames 4,277 6,056 9,584 39,317 9,844 
			 Rochdale 12,033 69,346 7,485 8,781 8,829 
			 Rotherham 18,005 10,396 8,163 11,708 10,359 
			 Rutland 1,284 1,704 1,832 1,614 1,681 
			 Salford 10,210 56,770 9,947 11,989 7,869 
			 Sandwell 16,344 16,435 12,992 17,223 12,694 
			 Sefton 16,930 12,079 13,303 19,464 12,294 
			 Sheffield 58,357 83,165 25,473 22,264 17,297 
			 Shropshire 10,822 10,366 13,800 12,695 10,865 
			 Slough 7,618 52,188 4,498 25,645 6,134 
			 Solihull 9,424 9,801 13,175 7,670 7,940 
			 Somerset 19,249 21,831 18,240 28,632 21,312 
			 South Gloucestershire 14,853 19,134 11,040 14,194 14,657 
			 South Tyneside 6,596 21,922 5,150 4,439 4,479 
			 Southampton 12,006 6,823 10,728 9,845 7,063 
			 Southend-on-Sea 9,907 13,793 7,799 10,833 17,278 
			 Southwark 12,593 27,031 21,199 16,184 16,080 
			 St. Helens 7,152 6,772 5,783 18,936 7,056 
			 Staffordshire 35,529 41,071 29,198 41,187 33,219 
			 Stockport 11,709 10,731 11,518 11,232 11,395 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 11,858 11,786 7,705 10,863 7,669 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 11,333 14,891 6,973 5,235 5,263 
			 Suffolk 34,673 44,931 31,273 34,765 28,079 
			 Sunderland 13,436 11,049 9,287 12,925 9,881 
			 Surrey 48,336 45,928 47,164 44,580 37,867 
			 Sutton 11,286 8,702 8,125 12,637 10,299 
			 Swindon 80,240 11,594 9,182 8,747 8,927 
			 Tameside 9,008 11,616 11,327 11,427 8,976 
			 Telford and Wrekin 77,507 12,310 7,550 14,879 7,830 
			 Thurrock 11,007 13,289 8,904 22,969 17,604 
			 Torbay 9,470 10,959 8,994 31,837 9,893 
			 Tower Hamlets 8,912 8,586 17,942 14,296 15,028 
			 Trafford 14,773 13,569 8,389 11,284 8,834 
			 Wakefield 16,743 15,790 16,804 24,201 12,558 
			 Walsall 19,361 17,518 13,384 23,948 12,428 
			 Waltham Forest 10,364 10,260 10,752 6,967 7,032 
			 Wandsworth 11,741 10,371 10,495 23,102 14,936 
			 Warrington 8,821 8,006 9,805 12,092 8,152 
			 Warwickshire 34,454 25,499 19,169 34,055 22,856 
			 West Berkshire 7,647 7,957 6,546 19,358 7,575 
			 West Sussex 30,799 34,381 36,018 43,006 31,828 
			 Westminster 15,195 10,110 7,779 10,708 6,962 
			 Wigan 19,790 17,511 10,370 24,387 12,775 
			 Wiltshire 27,615 21,251 15,740 42,850 18,149 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 5,972 5,456 4,439 5,726 5,963 
			 Wirral 18,774 14,354 13,418 18,486 12,401 
			 Wokingham 9,042 12,002 5,185 18,035 6,246 
			 Wolverhampton 10,311 15,655 9,498 26,755 11,125 
			 Worcestershire 24,264 88,860 19,602 22,138 22,537 
			 York 9,651 9,429 8,739 28,494 6,364

Schools: Employment Agencies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many individuals teaching or managing in schools are paid through personal service companies (IR35), broken down by local authority; and what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on this matter.

Jim Knight: holding answer 2 July 2007
	The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The decision whether to employ teachers and other school staff through personal service companies is a matter for individual schools or local authorities. Guidance is issued by the department with respect to safeguarding children and safer recruitment in education including through personal service companies. This guidance can be available in PDF format at the following URL:
	http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetailsPageMode=spectrumProductld=DFES-04217-2006.

Schools: Religion

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what religious groups his Department has corresponded with in the past 12 months over possible sponsorship of  (a) an academy and  (b) a trust school.

Jim Knight: Officials are in regular contact with the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church who are actively involved in the Academies programme. Discussions have also taken place about potential Academy and/or Trust School projects with the Eastern Orthodox Church and a number of organisations who have a religious ethos, including Oasis, the United Learning Trust and the Multi Faith Secondary School Trust and the Salvation Army.
	The Focus Learning Trust has made a number of representations to Government concerning the establishment of an Academy or a Trust school in which the FLT would have a role. There are no current proposals to establish any such Academy or Trust school.

Teachers

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for children, Schools and Families how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teaching posts were removed by each local education authority area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Provisional figures show that between 1997 and 2007 there was an increase of 5,300 full-time equivalent number of teachers employed in local authority maintained nursery and primary schools and 27,300 in local authority maintained secondary schools in England.
	The source of information is the DFES annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies, 618G.

Teachers: Science

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry,  (c) biology and  (d) biochemistry graduates began teacher training in each of the last 10 years, broken down by class of degree.

Jim Knight: holding answer 28 June 2007
	The breakdown of Science courses into the individual specialisms is not available. The following table shows the number of entrants to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) mainstream Post Graduate (PG) science courses with a first UK degree in science or in a science-related subject by the classification of their first degree between 1998/99 and 2004/05.
	
		
			Degree classification 
			   Total  1st  2:1  2:2  3  Pass  Class not known or undefined 
			 1998/99 1,620 120 630 600 150 90 30 
			 1999/2000 1,680 140 660 630 150 70 40 
			 2000/01 1,790 150 710 650 160 90 30 
			 2001/02 1,880 150 780 670 160 90 40 
			 2002/03 1,940 180 760 730 160 100 20 
			 2003/04 2,220 220 930 780 170 80 30 
			 2004/05 2,100 220 900 720 180 70 10 
			  Notes: 1. Includes trainees from Universities and other Higher Education (HE) institutions, School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) and Open Universities (OU), but exclude Employment Based Routes (EBR). 2. Numbers are individually rounded to the nearest 10, therefore may not sum. 3. Figures include those entering ITT courses for secondary science and key stage 2/3 science. 4. UK first degree of science includes trainees with degrees in biology, chemistry and physics. 5. UK first degree of science related subject includes trainees with a degree which has an element of science, for example engineering. 6. Prior to 1998/99 data are not in a consistent format.  Source:  TDA performance profiles

Teachers: Standards

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effect on the educational attainments of pupils of being taught by unqualified teachers.

Jim Knight: No such assessment has been made.

Teachers: Training

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what training in teaching reading is provided to student teachers at university.

Jim Knight: holding answer 3 July 2007
	The standards for qualified teacher status require that all trainee teachers have a secure knowledge and understanding of their subjects and curriculum areas. They are also required to demonstrate that they are able to put into practice in their teaching the relevant aspects of the National Strategies. In the case of all primary teachers, this means that they will receive training in the teaching of reading. This training will include phonics approaches, such as the teaching of high quality systematic phonic work, in accordance with the recommendations of the Rose Review. The standards for the award of qualified teacher status have recently been revised and strengthened in these areas.

Teachers: Training

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many teachers in the maintained sector have been trained by the Applied Scholastics programme;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the Applied Scholastics programme for  (a) teachers and  (b) pupils.

Jim Knight: The Department does not have information relating to how many teachers have been trained by the Applied Scholastic programme and has made no assessment of the Applied Scholastics programme for either teachers or for pupils.

Teachers: Working hours

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate his Department has made of the hours an average  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teacher spends on planning, preparation, assessment and other administration in each seven day period; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Information on the hours and working patterns of teachers is collected via the 'Teachers' Workloads Diary Survey' that is published by the Office of Manpower Economics. The most recent results relate to a single week in March 2006. The survey showed that on average full-time classroom teachers in primary schools spent 14.2 hours on 'Lesson planning/Marking'(1) and 5.0 hours on 'General Admin'(2). Full-time classroom teachers in secondary schools spent 14.8 hours on 'Lesson planning /Marking'(1) and 3.0 hours on 'General Admin'(2).
	We expect that the results of the 2007 survey will be published in the next couple of months.
	(1) Lesson planning / Marking includes: planning/preparing lesson, practical test or assessment (including gathering materials); assessing/marking pupil work (including exam/test); writing reports on pupil progress (e.g. end of term report); other non-contact activities relating to a class or lesson.
	(2) General admin includes: keeping records on pupil performance (e.g. for National Curriculum, school records, examination boards etc.); keeping records or department records (excluding those on pupil performance); organising resources and premises (e.g. building, equipment, books, computers); displaying / mounting pupils' work or information for pupils; setting up / tidying classroom, lab or other teaching area; simple clerical activity (e.g. photocopying, filing, routine form filling/database entry); other kinds of administrative activities.

Teaching Methods

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what contact his Department has had with Applied Scholastics since 1997.

Jim Knight: The information requested can be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

HEALTH

Care Homes

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) state funded and  (b) privately funded care home places in (i) Cornwall and (ii) England per head of population.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 29 June 2007
	Neither the Department nor the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) collects data on population numbers. Information on the number of care and nursing homes and registered places is collected by CSCI as part of its registration and inspection activities.
	The Office for National Statistics has supplied data on numbers of adults aged 18 and over in England and the Cornwall county council area. Numbers of care and nursing home places, in England and Cornwall as percentages of the numbers of adults aged 18 and over are shown in the table.
	Care home places are not registered as state or privately funded; care is funded in a variety of ways. Depending on their circumstances, residents may fund their own care, or be partly or wholly supported by councils or the national health service, or organisations such as charities and previous employers. As a result, the same place may, at different times, be state or privately funded depending on the circumstances of the resident occupying it.
	
		
			  Area  Places( 1)  Number of adults aged 18 and over( 2)  Number of places as a percentage of adults aged 18 and over( 3) 
			 England 440,038 39,383,400 1.12 
			 Cornwall 5,480 411,500 1.33 
			 (1) Numbers include residential homes for older people and for younger adults (aged 18-64). (2) Figures rounded to the nearest 100. These data are Crown copyright. (3) Percentages rounded to two decimal places.  Sources; (1) CSCI report, The State of Social Care in England 2005-06. (2) Office for National Statistics mid-2005 population estimates (latest available figures).

Care Homes: Cornwall

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many extra care housing places there are  (a) taken up and  (b) available in Cornwall.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 29 June 2007
	This information is not collected centrally.

Dental Services: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what spare capacity expressed in patient numbers is available for  (a) under 18,  (b) over 18 fee paying and  (c) over 18 charge exempt people who want to register with an NHS dentist in Milton Keynes, broken down by dental practice.

Ann Keen: holding answer 29 June 2007
	 Information is not available in the format requested. Since April 2006 patients have no longer been required to register with a particular dentist.
	Information is held centrally on the number of patients broken down by adults and children who received care or treatment from a national health service dentist in the most recent 14 months. As at 31 March 2007 53.8 per cent. of patients in Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust had seen an NHS dentist at least once in the previous 24 months, for adults this was 47.0 per cent. and for children this was 74.6 per cent.

Departments: Older Workers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of staff in her Department were over 60 years of age in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Date  Percentage of staff over 60 
			 31 March 2005 1.0 
			 31 March 2006 1.4 
			 31 March 2007 1.7

Departments: Older Workers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged  (a) over 55 years of age and  (b) over 60 years of age have been recruited by her Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage in each case this is of the number of new recruits in each year.

Ivan Lewis: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  Age group  Recruits  Percentage  Recruits  Percentage  Recruits  Percentage 
			 55 and over 5 4 14 5 1 1 
			 60 and over 0 0 3 1 1 1

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of sick leave taken by staff in her Department was stress-related in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: The percentages of sick leave recorded on our sickness absence database in each of the last three years under a category defined as mental health, including depression, anxiety and potential stress related problems, were 32 per cent. for 2004-05, 22 per cent. for 2005-06 and 24 per cent. for 2006-07.

Departments: Written Questions

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Parliamentary Questions were tabled to his Department between 1 January and 30 June 2007, broken down by  (a) Ordinary Written and  (b) Named Day; what percentage of Ordinary Written Questions were answered within 10 working days; what percentage of Named Day Questions were answered substantively by the date named; and what measures he is taking to ensure that Questions are answered within the (i) recommended and (ii) required time.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer2 July 2007
	 Between 1 January and 30 June we answered 839 Named Day Parliamentary questions, of which 497 (59 per cent.) were answered on the day specified. We also answered 3,812 Ordinary written questions, of which 1,296 (34 per cent.) were answered within 10 working days.
	We endeavour to answer all parliamentary questions as quickly as possible and have been reviewing our internal processes. We are developing a replacement database which will enable us to better manage the end to end process and are also developing training for all those in the Department who prepare answers for Ministers to consider.
	In the run up to the recent Government changes, we made a particular effort to answer outstanding questions and in the week up to 25 June we answered over 550. We will continue to seek improvement in our performance in this important area.

Disabled: Children

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of  (a) Cornwall's and  (b) England's (i) total, (ii) adult and (iii) child population was registered disabled on the latest date for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 29 June 2007
	 Each local authority is required by law to maintain a register of disabled people living within its area for the purposes of planning and providing social services. However, registration is entirely voluntary, therefore the information held does not accurately represent the prevalence of disability. This information is not held centrally.

Health Services: Finance

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department expects to allocate to  (a) the Healthcare Commission,  (b) the National Patient Safety Agency,  (c) the General Social Care Council and  (d) the Commission for Social Care Inspection (i) to promote public engagement in their activities and (ii) for communication purposes in (A) 2007-08, (B) 2008-09 and (C) 2009-10.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has allocated a budget to its arm's length bodies for 2007-08 and the detailed elements of each are set out as follows.
	However, for 2008-09 and 2009-10, while overall indicative budgets have been allocated, the Department and the arm's length bodies have not yet agreed the detailed elements of their expenditure.
	 Healthcare Commission
	The budget for the patient and public engagement team for 2007-08 is 0.775 million. Public engagement is also supported by other departments, as patients and the public are the primary focus of the Healthcare Commission's work.
	The rest of the communications budget for 2007-08 is 3.117 million. This also includes public engagement in the form of running consultation events and communicating through written reports and the internet.
	 National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA)
	The NPSA Business Plan for 2007-08 states that the Agency will ensure that patients and the public are involved in its work by developing and implementing an involvement strategy in 2007 that takes account of changes resulting from the review of the organisational arrangements to support patient safety, Safety First (December 2006). The sum of budget lines that relate specifically to patient and public involvement is 347,288.
	Communications supports the Agency's activity and engagement with the national health service in England and Wales, including feedback reports to each NHS organisation, the work of the National Clinical Assessment Service, the work of the National Research Ethics Service, published guidance on improving medication safety and a high profile patient safety campaign to frontline workers, as well as patients and the public. The total budget for this is approximately 1.7 million.
	 The General Social Care Council (GSCC)
	The GSCC has allocated a budget to its Corporate Communications Directorate in 2007-08 of 1.001 million (as shown in the GSCC Business Plan for 2007-08). However, the GSCC has not allocated this budget between the two criteria that are stated in the question.
	The GSCC also has funding within the education support grant that is paid (by the GSCC) to higher education institutes for the involvement of service users and carers in the design and delivery of the social work degree courses. For 2007-08 the earmarked funding is 0.628 million. This funding for this activity is also quoted in the GSCCs Business Plan for 2007-08.
	 The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI)
	Communications and public involvement are a core function of CSCI's role. As a service regulator it is important that every aspect of CSCI's work involves communication with the public in general and, more specifically, with service users, their carers and families and with providers, commissioners and policy makers. By doing this, our work can encourage greater involvement in services, increase awareness of developments and issues in social care and raise the standard of service provision.
	Therefore it is not feasible to completely separate the aspects of CSCI's work, and the budgets, which are specifically about public involvement and communication from those which are not.
	However, there is a central function from which the core public and user involvement activities of CSCI are co-ordinated with a budget of 1.039 million for the current year. This budget does not cover all relevant expenditure on communications and public involvement, but it does cover the cost of user involvement activities such as experts by experience, involvement in inspections, user participation in improvement boards, conferences, methodology development etc. and accessible communications.
	As well as the public and user involvement function, CSCI has a specific communications function which co-ordinates publications, events, marketing and web development. All of these activities are central to informing the public about and involving the public in CSCI's work.

Hearing Impaired: Health Services

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of progress on the Government's target to reduce waiting times for audiology assessments to six weeks by March 2008.

Ivan Lewis: Data published on 13 June 2007 show that, at the end of April, 101,260 people were waiting longer than six weeks for an audiology assessment. This is a reduction of 37,409 since October and represents good progress towards the milestone.

Mentally Ill: Young People

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies he has  (a) reviewed and  (b) commissioned on levels of mental illness in young people, with particular reference to levels of clinical depression; what assessment he has made of those studies; and what steps his Department is taking to combat depression in young people.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 3 July 2007
	 The Office for National Statistics 2004 survey Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain looked at the prevalence of mental health disorders. It found that 10 per cent. of young people aged 5-16 years had a clinically diagnosed mental disorder. This includes four per cent. with an emotional disorder (1 per cent. depression and 3 per cent. anxiety disorders).
	In September 2005, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published a guideline on the treatment of depression in children and young people which also included advice on the detection and recognition of depression. It outlined the treatment options availablepsychological therapies or medication. It recommended that medication should only be used rarely in the under 11 age group and should only be offered to the 12-18 group in more severe cases in addition to psychological therapy.
	The National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (published in 2004), sets the framework for child and adolescent mental services (CAMHS) for the next ten years. It sets the standard that all children and young people, from birth to their eighteenth birthday, who have mental health problems and disorders, will have access to timely, integrated, high quality multidisciplinary mental health services to ensure effective assessment, treatment and support, for them, their parents or carers, and other family members.
	In the four years 2004-05 to 2007-08, we have invested over 400 million in additional funding for the development of CAMHS by the national health service and local authorities. It has assisted them in the achievement of the Department's public service agreement standard of a comprehensive CAMHS in every area.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many primary care trusts have led a health economy-wide approach to implementation of the DH Musculoskeletal Services Framework; and how many are on course to complete implementation by autumn/winter 2007;
	(2)  how many primary care trusts have led an assessment of health needs of those with musculoskeletal conditions; and how many are on course to complete an assessment by spring 2007;
	(3)  how many primary care trusts have mapped current musculoskeletal services and assessed future demand; and how many are on course to complete mapping by spring 2007.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 29 June 2007
	This information is not available centrally.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why musculoskeletal services are excluded from the Quality and Outcomes Framework; and whether consideration will be given to including them in the next review.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 29 June 2007
	Musculoskeletal services are currently not included within the Quality and Outcome Framework. No proposals for musculoskeletal services were taken forward for the 2006 contract changes. As part of the ongoing development of the Framework, indicators will be reviewed in the light of emerging evidence, in the context of a value for money agreement.

New Deal for Carers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  over what time period the funding package announced in the written ministerial statement of 21 February 2007,  Official Report, column 49WS, on the new deal for carers will be spent; and how much has been spent;
	(2)  on what date she expects the national helpline for carers to be established.

Ivan Lewis: The funding announced for the new deal for carers announced on 21 February 2007 is for the current financial year. Decisions on funding for future years will be announced following the forthcoming comprehensive spending review.
	In October, we will be giving councils their share of 25 million to develop short breaks for carers who are temporarily unable to care because of an emergency or other crisis. In addition, we will soon make up to 1 million available to key national organisations who are working with the Government to help provide greater support for carers.
	The Department is working actively to achieve delivery of the national helpline and has been doing so in consultation with the national carers' organisations. It is our intention that the helpline will be in place in next summer.

Osteoporosis: Medical Treatments

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his estimate is of the cost to the NHS of treating patients with osteoporotic fractures of the  (a) hip,  (b) wrist and  (c) vertebrae in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(2)  whether alternative treatments are available on the NHS to patients at risk of osteoporotic fracture who do not respond to the first line treatment prescribed by their general practitioner;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the cost of  (a) treating an osteoporotic hip fracture and  (b) providing treatments likely to prevent such fractures from occurring in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has made no estimate of the overall cost to the national health service of treating patients with osteoporotic fractures. Nor has the Department estimated the individual cost of treating an osteoporotic hip fracture, or the cost of providing treatments to prevent osteoporotic fractures.
	In its appraisal of the use of bisphosphonates in post-menopausal women, which was published in 2005, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) estimated that among post-menopausal women, the cost to the NHS of fractures to the hip, forearm and spine was 942 million. Additionally, draft final guidance issued by NICE on 26 June 2007, acknowledged that the cost of treating post-menopausal women with Alendronate, the recommended therapy for both the initiation of primary and secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures, would be between 95.03 and 301.39 per patient per year.
	This new set of guidance, which NICE expects to publish in final form in August 2007, covers the initiation of treatment only. The future NICE clinical guideline on osteoporosis will cover the treatment of women who cannot take or have withdrawn from treatment with Alendronate. Until this guideline is published, we expect NHS organisations to continue to provide treatments based on an assessment of the available evidence.

Osteoporosis: Medical Treatments

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the time taken by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to develop guidance on treatments to prevent osteoporotic fractures in post-menopausal women.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued a Final Appraisal Determination on treatments to prevent osteoporotic fractures in post-menopausal women. This is a particularly complex appraisal and has taken longer to complete than would normally be the case. NICE operates a robust appraisal process, involving a full assessment of the evidence and public consultation on its draft recommendations. It is important that in the most complex cases, NICE is allowed to take sufficient time to ensure that final guidance it issues is of a high quality.

Pregnancy: Screening

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many amniocentesis procedures were carried out in each of the last three years; how many of the procedures resulted in a diagnosis for Down's Syndrome (Trisomy 21) or other chromosomal abnormalities; and how many of these resulted in a termination.

Ann Keen: holding answer 3 July 2007
	Information on the total number of amniocentesis procedures carried out in the last three years is not collected centrally. Information on the number of amniocentesis tests that resulted in a diagnosis of Down's Syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities and the number of terminations as a result of Down's Syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities is in the following table.
	
		
			  Abortions performed under Section l(l)(d)* of the Abortion Act 1967 with amniocentesis used in the diagnosis of chromosomal anomalies, residents, England and Wales, 2004-06 
			   Abortions performed because of Down's Syndrome  Down's Syndrome diagnosed using amniocentesis  Abortions performed because of chromosomal anomalies other than Down's Syndrome  Chromosomal anomalies other than Down's Syndrome diagnosed using amniocentesis 
			 2006 436 195 336 114 
			 2005 429 199 319 136 
			 2004 419 183 307 104 
			  Notes: * That there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped. Amniocentesis used as a method of diagnosis with or without an ultrasound and/or chorionic. Information about method of diagnosis is missing for about 8 per cent. of abortions performed under Section l(l)(d)* of the Abortion Act 1967.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Females: Small Businesses

Nick Brown: To ask the Minister for Women what work is undertaken by the taskforce on women's enterprise; and what progress has been made towards the recruitment of a national network of 1,000 female entrepreneur ambassadors.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	If we matched US levels of entrepreneurship there would be 700,000 more businesses run by women in the UK. To help accelerate the UK towards the US levels of entrepreneurship, the Government established the taskforce on Women's Enterprise to advise it on specific steps to increase levels of women's business ownership in the UK. Under the co-chairmanship of Pam Alexander (CEO, SEED A) and Glenda Stone (CEO, Aurora), the taskforce is providing leadership on women's enterprise across Government and the regions, by recommending specific steps to increase women's business ownership. It is working with the Regional Development Agencies to ensure that women have access to the high-quality support and advice they require to start and grow their businesses.
	Working alongside the taskforce is the Women's Enterprise Ambassadors' Network (WEAN). This network comprises inspirational women entrepreneurs, who are using their knowledge and experience to inspire more women to consider the option of starting a business. To celebrate the recruitment of the 1000th ambassador the first WEAN National conference, hosted by my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking (Margaret Hodge), the then Minister for Industry and the Regions, took place at Lancaster House on Monday 25 June 2007. The conference was attended by 200 ambassadors from around the country.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

British Telecommunications: Fees and Charges

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the outcome was of discussions between his Department and Ofcom on British Telecom's decision to introduce an additional charge for customers who do not pay by direct debit; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The independent regulator the Office of Communications (Ofcom) announced on 6 June that it will carry out a full review of communications providers' additional charges. Ofcom expects to announce the conclusions of its review in the autumn and progress may be monitored on its website at:
	www.ofcom.org.uk.
	The review will cover charges for non-direct debit payments, as well as other additional charges including late payment, restoration of service and early termination fees. It will cover fixed and mobile operators, and pay TV services. Ofcom will look at the nature and level of charges levied by communications providers and how well signposted and transparent such charges are. It will investigate how far consumers are aware of additional charges, whether they are able and willing to shop around on the basis of core prices and additional charges rather than just core prices, and whether there are certain groups of consumers who are unable to do this and therefore may be disadvantaged.
	On investigating this issue it has become clear that it would be wrong to look at BT in isolation. More than 40 per cent. of homes are provided with telephony services by operators other than BT, and the differentials for payment by non-direct debit range from no extra charge to 15 a quarter. Some providers provide no payment option other than direct debit.

Departments: Energy

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many energy saving lightbulbs were purchased by his Department for use on the departmental estate in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Gareth Thomas: In the financial year 2006-07 the Department procured and installed 2,770 energy saving light bulbs and holds an approximate stock of 320; the latter will vary dependant on replacement requirements.
	During the previous year 2004-05 the Department purchased approximately 4,700 energy saving light bulbs.
	The Department installs energy efficient lighting throughout its estate as a part of its strategy to achieve the energy targets set out in the framework for sustainable development in Government.

Energy: Black Sea

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what support his Department has given to UK energy companies developing new energy resources in the Black Sea.

Gareth Thomas: While UK energy companies have been active for some time in the Black Sea states, UK Trade and Investment is not aware of any UK company involvement in the offshore development of new energy resources in the Black Sea itself. UK companies considering investment in that activity may wish to consider contacting UK Trade and Investment to discuss available assistance.
	Information on the types of assistance available from UK Trade and Investment is available via the organisation's website.

Manufacturing Industries: Exports

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what new market opportunities for manufacturing exports were offered by Brazil and India at discussions with the United States and the European Union in Potsdam.

Gareth Thomas: The negotiations in Potsdam between the EU, US, Brazil and India have not led yet to agreement on the tariff reduction formulae for either trade in agriculture or trade in manufactured goods. Consequently, discussions about market access for manufactured goods did not lead to new market opportunities being offered.

Minimum Wage

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the level of the national minimum wage was for  (a) adults and  (b) younger workers (i) at its inception and (ii) at each further increase since then; what the date was of each increase; and what percentage of national average earnings each increase represented.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 2 July 2007
	The national minimum wage rates are set in response to recommendations by the independent Low Pay Commission. The rate for workers aged 16-17 was introduced in 2004 in response to a Low Pay Commission recommendation. The rates have increased since inception as follows:
	
		
			  Table 1: The UK minimum wage 
			   Main r ate  (w orkers aged 22+)  per hour  Development  r ate (workers aged 18-21)  per hour  Workers aged 16 -17  per hour 
			 1 April 1999 3.60 3.00  
			 1 June 2000 3.60 3.20  
			 1 October 2000 3.70 3.20  
			 1 October 2001 4.10 3.50  
			 1 October 2002 4.20 3.60  
			 1 October 2003 4.50 3.85  
			 1 October 2004 4.85 4.10 3.00 
			 1 October 2005 5.05 4.25 3.00 
			 1 October 2006 5.35 4.45 3.30 
			 1 October 2007 5.52 4.60 3.40 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2. The UK minimum wage as a percentage of median earnings 
			   Percentage 
			   Main rate (workers aged 22+)  Development rate (workers aged 18-21  Workers aged 16-17 
			 1 April 1999 45.6 64.5  
			 1 June 2000 45.2 68.3  
			 1 October 2000 44.3 66.0  
			 1 October 2001 47.0 68.6  
			 1 October 2002 46.3 68.1  
			 1 October 2003 47.7 68.0  
			 1 October 2004 49.5 72.3  
			 1 October 2005 49.7 72.7 61.5 
			 1 October 2006 50.2 73.4 65.0 
			 1 October 2007 50.1 73.4 64.8 
			  Note: Calculated as the minimum wage rate as a proportion of the median wage for the given age group. The minimum wage is deflated back to the survey period using the average earnings index (excluding bonuses). October 2007 figures also based on forecast average earnings growth.  Source: DTI estimates based on the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics (www.statistics.gov.uk)

Post Offices: WH Smith

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies the Post Office has undertaken into the impact on surrounding sub-post offices of establishing post offices in WH Smith branches.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. Alan Cook the managing director has been asked to reply direct to the right hon. Member.

Post Offices: WH Smith

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when details will be announced of the compensation to be made to sub-post offices whose businesses are adversely affected by the opening of post offices in nearby WH Smith branches.

Patrick McFadden: Decisions on the location of post office branches and franchise agreements are operational issues for Post Office Ltd.

Postal Services: EC Action

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had  (a) with ministerial colleagues and  (b) at the European level on (i) the timetable for liberalisation of postal services across the European Union and (ii) the effect of liberalisation on the future of the Royal Mail.

Patrick McFadden: The Department's Ministers and officials have regular discussions with other Government Department colleagues on matters relating to the liberalisation of postal services. We also maintain ongoing dialogue with both the institutions of the European Union and the other member states.
	The Government support the European objective of implementing a single market for postal services by 2009: by opening up the sector to competition in a gradual and controlled way, within a regulatory framework that ensures the sustained provision of a universal service.
	Royal Mail management has welcomed the introduction of competition in postal markets. The Government have recently agreed a finance framework for Royal Mail to enable the company to modernise and improve its efficiency so that it can compete successfully in a liberalised market.

Trade Unions: Ballots

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will place in the Library copies of the scrutineers' report on union ballots on political fund retention, held by the Certification Officer, from the last 12 months.

Patrick McFadden: There have been no union ballots on political fund retention in the last 12 months.

World Trade Organisation

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made for the future of the World Trade Organisation Doha Round following discussions between the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India in Potsdam.

Gareth Thomas: The UK Government regrets that G4 members failed to agree a common platform in the DDA negotiations. However, Pascal Lamy, the WTO Director General, has made it clear that negotiations will continue in Geneva. We hope that all WTO members will now work with Pascal Lamy and the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups to try to take the negotiations forward. We are encouraging all WTO members to engage positively and constructively and to show the flexibility and commitment necessary to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion, and remain committed to achieving an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the DDA.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Voluntary Work: Kettering

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will visit the Kettering voluntary network to discuss the challenges faced by the third sector in Kettering.

Phil Hope: Organisations like the Kettering Voluntary Network play a key role in supporting local third sector organisations and helping people to volunteer, and are an example of how local government and voluntary organisations can work together to improve local communities.
	The Government are committed to developing an environment which enables the third sector to thrive and the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office works with the sector and other government departments to break down barriers which prevent people from volunteering.
	I have asked an official from the Office of the Third Sector to contact Kettering Voluntary Network to arrange a visit to discuss the challenges faced by the third sector in Kettering.